Destructive
by GodSaveTheQueen22
Summary: ***BEING PUT ON HOLD WHILE IT IS REWRITTEN***I don't want to give up on this story, but this story started off on the wrong foot. It's not my best work so I'm trying to refine it. I will be making a new story based on this one, same concept, same title. I just don't like how I went about this one and I know I can do better.
1. 1) Saving Fury with Destruction

**A one shot based on a dream I had. I can continue or preview it but I guess it depends on you guys.**

* * *

My only worry was that this mission would fail. Or that he wasn't even alive. Or that this wasn't their hiding place.

Whatever happened, I was to take care of Lincoln forever and always. I gazed down at his chubby little baby face and his baby blue eyes and fell in love with him again.

I took a deep breath and spoke into my comms.

"Not much is riding on this right?"

"You keep telling yourself that and the whole world might end"

"Good grief, Miles. Lighten up the mood, why don't you."

"It's not me who's life might possibly end. Or their son's."

"Do not even go there Miles."

"Calm down, Mama Bear. The time will come when we have our own." I scoffed.

"Ok, I'm going in."

"Alright, Skye-"

"Daisy-"

"Putting in the thermal scanning sensors... Now." I touched the brim of my glasses but I couldn't see anything.

"Miles, I can't see anything. How can an old ass library block any electromagnetic radiation?"

"Someone rigged it. It means someone has got to be in there."

"You're right-"

"Always am. I was the one who pointed you to this place, wasn't I?"

"Miles?"

"Yes, love?"

"Shut up."

"Make me."

Rocking Link in my arms, I made my way into the library through the front door which wasn't even locked. The bookshelves inside were small, half my body size. I could easily jump over them. The only big bookshelves were up against the wall and they didn't leave any space for the actual wall to show. There was an opening to the side with more bookshelves and short bookshelves(about two or three), in the middle of the room (which seemed much smaller than this one which had about six short bookshelves in the middle). As far as I could tell, there was one exit and two guns being pointed at me. Natasha Romanoff and Maria Hill. I had a feeling it would be them guarding him.

"Who are you?" Romanoff asked.

"I've come for help from Nick Fury." Maria's eyes flickered behind the sixth short bookshelf and I silently thanked her for making finding Fury easy.

"Nick Fury is dead." Maria says blankly. Now comes the next part. I slowly whisper into my comm "Fight or Flight?" as I kiss Link's head.

I only get static in response. Both it is, I guess.

"Who are you on comms with?"

"No one, I guess, since you practically cut all electromagnetic radiation in here. You have got to show me how you do that, by the way. I would love to know." Romanoff rolled her eyes. "I noticed you have-um" I raised Link up to my chest. He was snoring, the cute chubby thing. "Curled your hair a bit. Did you grow it out? It seems like you growed it out. It looks nice. A little different, but nice."

"What's your name?" I know for a fact the only reason why they haven't shot me yet is because they need me to talk. The only way to shoot without a lethal shot is covered by Link or the bookshelf exposing only my head and-although it would depend on the type of gun and the make of it and other factors, there is no way they can guarantee a non-lethal shot through the skull. Bet they're wishing for ICERs now, aren't they?

"What's your name?" Romanoff asks. Of course I have a slim chance against a freaking super soldier/spy and a highly trained ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent but I've some tricks up my sleeve.

"Agent Skye?" Maria asked, finally remembering. "One of Coulson's, am I right?" Romanoff glanced over at Maria questioningly.

"Yeah." I nod. "Coulson sent me."

"Agent Coulson is dead." Maria cursed. Then I remembered, the Avengers thought Coulson was dead. I have the upperhand now. Romanoff looked back at Maria.

"Is it true?" She asked. I appreciated this moment to use my powers and threw Natasha and Maria into the large bookshelves behind them. I ran onto the left side of the bookshelves which promptly woke Lincoln up and sparked a tantrum of screams and sobs with his tiny, little lungs. Sometimes I wondered if it even hurt him to scream so loud. I quickly left him wrapped in a blanket behind the second short bookshelf and hurried to Fury.

I found him strewn on the floor bleeding heavily from his head. I looked at him and glanced back, realizing that leaving Link was a stupid idea. Sure he was still revolting with ear-piercing screams, but I shouldn't have left him. So I ran back and just as I was to grab my baby, Maria ran passed me with Link in her arms into the second room. That sparked me into rage as I distinctly followed her. She had left Link right on the floor in the front of the room to get a good shot at me.

She shot me in the leg but with the adrenaline I had, I only felt a punch. I suppose that it's going to hurt a lot more later on. I quickly snapped her... something... before grabbing Link and quickly walking back to Fury. He seemed closer to death than the last time I was here. I don't even know what the hell the three musketeers were doing in here while Nick Fury was literally dying. I kneeled before him so I could be on eye level with him.

"Help me." I pleaded. He glanced at me, half-gone already.

"Save me." Save him? How? I don't know if I can. What if… what if- "Please" My gift is destruction, not healing.

'Your gift is quite destructive but look at the music you can make.' My mom was crazy.

''She wasn't always like this' I closed my eyes as the memories flooded reality but they only got stronger. I hugged Link tighter to my chest and looked into his blue eyes. I took a deep breath and touched the long gash on Fury's head. I focused on his cells' vibrations, the way they tried to be together put couldn't because they were too weak to. I realized I would have to give some of my life to make his cells strong in order to save him, but it would be hard. I ignored Link's cries and focused on giving strength, giving him some of my life.

Soon, his gash started healing. His cells cooperating. His life recuperating. He inhaled a long breath and let it out twice as soft, regaining his life. I smiled. I saved someone. I looked down into my baby's eyes, realizing he had calmed down. He stared at me scared which I returned with a confused look?

"What's wrong?" I whispered to him quietly. I seemed to be losing my voice. Nick Fury looked healthy enough so I took my hand off his head.

"You look like death" was all I heard from him before my vision began to blacken.

"Coulson didn't send me"

* * *

 **Just republished to make the ending sound better. It didn't sit right with me so I changed it. I'm comfirming a continuation of the story thanks to all the nice reviews, favorites, and follows of** **: SLYNNR, guest, Tamara, Sailor Light Angel, Commandos, AmieeSnow, Riolu G. Hand, carebear02, hnt5811, and CM6SHIELD6PLL6. If I missed you, I'm very sorry. Please pm me now and for any future chapters I miss you on to get a sneak peek at the next chapter...**


	2. 2) Fixing the Identity Status Problem

**MERRY CHRISTMAS! My gift to you is the continuation of this one-shot. I updated my last chapter because some things and word choices were not my... Favorite and so I changed it. If you haven't seen the update, I did give thanks to all the nice reviews, favorites, and follows of: SLYNNR, guest, Tamara(guest), Sailor Light Angel, Commandos, AmieeSnow, Riolu G. Hand, carebear02, hnt5811, and CM6SHIELD6PLL6. If I missed you, I'm very sorry. Please pm me now-and for any future chapters I miss you on, to get a sneak peek at the next chapter**

 **Alright... HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**

* * *

"You know, I have to admit that a plastic comm is something way above and beyond what I was thinking. For a solo vigilante like you?" I blinked. Looking over at my side, Romanoff sat comfortably on a chair. I was in a makeshift hospital bed with an IV stuck into my arm. "I bet you stole it. Even then, I still found it. Your buddy on the other side wouldn't respond for anything, however and I don't have the technology to track them currently so I just destroyed it."

I rolled my eyes. Just a few thousand bucks is what I'll have to pay in order to get a few coins to actually buy it off the dark web without tripping over all the firewalls and protecting my IP address so a homicidal maniac trying to kill everyone who's not an expert at the Dark web and maybe try to sell their body parts to the cannibal side of the Dark web doesn't find me. Well, us.

Wait… Where's Link? My eyes widen as I realized Link wasn't at my side.

"If this whole mini panic attack is about the baby, he's fine. Maria has him." That didn't exactly calm me down. "Relax, you saved Fury. We know you're on our side. That's why we were in the library. We couldn't exactly trust anyone anymore what with everything going down with the accords and being 'written on paper' and Nick's supposed to be dead. An alias wouldn't really help at the stage he was where they easily steal some DNA samples and ID him. But you, well I couldn't find any records on 'Agent Skye' so you're in the clear for now. I know many agents had to go dark after what happened in D.C. That's why we knew we could bring you to this hospital. Sure it's a bit shitty, I think but what can you do when you're in this part of California."

"We're-" I suddenly had a bad coughing fit, which (thankfully), ended quickly. "We're in a hospital?"

Romanoff quickly nodded. I shook my head.

"I can't be here." I picked up the phone and dialed Miles' number. As it rang, I scooched out of bed.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to stay in bed."

"Listen, as a former Rising Tide member, I always stayed up to date with the Avengers. You never stayed in a hospital bed for more than five seconds, so you really shouldn't be talking. Ever heard of Quake?"

"No." Romanoff shook her head. "I haven't been in the US for a while. We were in the Mexico searching for some loose ends and that's when Fury decided to come to America. Something happened and we got ambushed-none of which is your concern. I presumed you're on a government index of some sort? With the type of powers you possess."

"But, I'm not-" I say as I take off the IV and begin changing into my normal clothes, "and they want me to be. Where's my baby?" Maria Hill walked in at that exact moment real awkwardly with a foot cast and Link in her arms.

 _"Hello?"_

"Miles?" I asked, grabbing Link from Maria's arms and picking up his blanket and placing it around him.

 _"Yeah?"_ I put the phone on mute, glanced over at Romanoff and said "trace the phone number later if you want to find me. I'll leave the phone," before quickly picking up the phone

"Come pick me up on-" I looked around for a clue of where I was and saw an informational poster with this hospital's name on it. "West Peanut Ave. Near the Community Hospital."

 _"That place is crap. Are you ok?"_

"I got shot in the leg but I'm on pain meds. Won't last long though. Hurry"

 _"Ok, ok. Umm-"_ I heard the van starting up the background. _"I will be there in about-"_ he paused-probably to look down at his phone, _"Five minutes."_

"Ok, Miles."

 _"Alright. See you soon, Skye"_

"D-" the line went dead before I could remind him my actual name. I tossed the phone at Romanoff and rushed out of the hospital. Link cooed at me.

"Maa. Moo. Maaaa" I smiled at his attempts to speak as I walked down the hallways in an attempt to exit.

"Maaaaa Maaaaa" I stopped in my tracks and looked down at him. He smiled and smudged his face with his tiny hand in excitement. "Maaama!"

I laughed in happiness and squeezed him. Those little teeth actually did help for something! I can't wait to tell Miles.

"What did you say Link? Can you say it again, baby? Say 'Mama'" Link giggled.

"Maama!" I hugged him even tighter.

"Come on, baby. We need to show Miles!"

I practically ran down the hallways and onto the street.

"Maama, mama MAMA!" He yelled giggling after. I practically screamed with excitement.

"Yeah, baby! I'm mama!" I said as I squeezed him twice as hard. "Ok, ok." I said as I released him from the hug to look down onto his tiny little face. "When Miles gets here, we're gonna show him what you can say, ok baby? He said that you can't talk for nothing but we'll prove him wrong. Right baby?"

He smiled and gurgled some more nonsense. I chuckled and placed a kiss on his big bald forehead. I don't know when he's going to grow hair, but I hope it's by next month. He's going to be 8 months old! The thought made me want to hug him harder. He is growing way too damn fast for me.

Suddenly, our van skidded to a stop in front of us and the door slammed to the side as if Miles were the big Hulk.

"Hop in. I bought us a nice hotel room in Pasadena so this little one can crawl freely. He needs some exercise. Getting a little too chubby for my liking." I slapped him on the back of his head before I tied Link up into his carseat.

"But you can't say it's not true, Skye. We both know Link is getting a bit too chubby. And he needs his vaccinations, poor kid might die of measles if we don't get him any vaccines."

"How do you suppose we get him vaccinated?" I asked him seriously as I hopped into the passenger seat and shut the door.

"I honestly don't know. I've never planned to be a parent fugitive. I'll call some contacts, see what they know and if they can help."

"Ok." I said looking out at the changing scenery. I looked back at Link and then remembered. "Today Link said 'mama'!"

"Yeah right."

"He did!" I turned around to look at Link who was holding his foot. He must have been fed. That's probably why he hadn't cried this whole time...Well, it's only been like six minutes. "Link. Liink."

He looked up at me with his mouth open and his cute little tongue showing as he babbled. "Say 'mama', Link" He gurgled and started giggling. "Link, say 'mama'" He smiled and gurgled some more.

"Told ya he couldn't say it."

"Yeah, he can. Link. Say 'mama', baby." He started giggling.

"Maawmaa" I laughed and threw my hands up.

"See!" I punched Miles. "I told you! He said it before 8 months! I told you!"

Miles rolled his eyes. "I'll give you the twenty bucks later ok?"

"Ok" I said as I kissed him.

"Alright, alright-" he said pushing me away playfully. "I need to keep my eyes on the road. So-"

"MAMA, MAMA, MAMA!"

"Ok, ok, Lincoln. I get it kid. You can say 'mama', I get it"

"MAAAMAAA!"

"Alright, kid! I got it, ok? I got it." I chuckled at their first argument. It was cute. Link couldn't speak yet and only yelled mama but it was adorable. Apparently, it was not funny at all to him because he promptly started crying. I take off my seatbelt and jump over the seat to his side and take him out of his carseat.

"I'm going to breastfeed you this time, Link, but I swear on my mother's grave if you bite me again, you will be fed out of the bottle for the rest of your infancy." I roll my eyes at Miles' comments and start breastfeeding him. He begins to gently feed himself as I look around the van. There's blankets everywhere on the floor and the only seat that's up besides the two front seats is Link's seat. On the dashboard up front is the police radio scanner and Miles' laptop which are the only reasons why my feet don't go up there.

The rest is room to sit, eat, draw or do whatever we want. We have a bulletin board pinned up on the wall with a giant map of the US and pictures of us(not including Miles) at certain locations pinned to the map. Behind Link's seat is a desk we drilled onto the floor which we use for hacking(with my laptop), exploring, and just plain Netflix when we decide to lay down together in our van and just watch some movies all together. And of course there's some crawling space for Link, too.

"Four days."

"What nonsense are you spouting now, Miles?"

"I spent four days without hearing a peep from you. The comms were broken, no way to communicate. I was so worried. I thought, I thought you guys had died. I'm sorry if I'm an asshole, but don't you ever do that again. You're too busy playing Super-powered James Bond to even differentiate who you are. I get that you were once an agent and that you can take care of yourself, but Link can't. You're a mom now, not just an Sokovia Accords candidate or an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent or even just goddamned Quake. I guess what I'm trying to say is you're not alone. And I get you want no strings attached or some bullshit like that but guess what? You gave that up when you decided to keep Link. You can't keep doing this. You're going to leave Link an orphan! Would you like him to grow up like you? Like us? Remember what it was like?"

"Yes. Of course I do, Miles. I know."

"It doesn't seem like it to me!" Link gets startled and starts to whine. I place his tiny body close to my chest and begin to burp him. "Link is one step away from being an orphan and you-his only parent, are still running amuck as if you have nothing to lose."

"Miles, we'll discuss this later. You need to focus on the road and I need to attend Link." I warn. Miles rolls his eyes at me through the rearview mirror.

"Ok. But we will finish this conversation. You have a tendency to avoid serious conversations."

"Yeah, yeah and we're gonna need to buy another comm and maybe a small flip phone that I can slip into my boots. Don't worry about the money, just making sure you were up to date with that."

"Yeah ok, Skye. About two hours left until we get to the hotel."

The bed at the hotel was the best. I hadn't been in a good one in so long. It felt really good, like heaven. Link was sleeping in a transportable cot I bought when he was born and it was finally time for Miles and I to talk.

"I rented it out for two days. Today and tomorrow under the name of Davis Monroe." He begins as he kicks off his sneakers and hops into bed with me.

"Great. That'll give us just enough time to-"

"Why can't we settle down, Skye? Why can't we just stay in one place? Kick our feet up and forget about the rest of the world. Maybe keep up with the Rising Tide but that's about it. We could provide a healthy environment for Link. This isn't healthy. Link hasn't even gotten his vaccines yet beside the basic newborn ones."

"Miles, you are the only one who accepts me for who I am. I'm always going to be on the run because the government will always be chasing me, trying to tag me as if I were an animal. Only you understand that I'm not such a freak. You understand better than the rest of them."

"Let's make them understand then. We can leave to a country where they don't permit the UN or the Sokovia accords and live peacefully!"

"Let me just fix a couple of loose en-" I squint and curl up in pain. "Arghh. I can feel the bullet wound now."

"Hold still, I'll get some pain meds." I tried to remain calm. Even if I had been shot before, I'll be dead before I ever get used to the feeling. It hurts like a bitch. I tried to keep quiet in order to not wake Link but dammit. It hurts so bad! Miles came back with a morphine shot and stuck it into my thigh, right next to my bullet wound. Even though the pain wasn't gone, I thanked him because I knew it would be gone soon.

"So, back on the topic" he started, slowly dragging on the word 'topic'.

"I would love to say it's a topic for another time-"

"But you're not-"

"But I'm not because I agree with you. Link is priority. Link is at danger and the thing that's putting him in danger is preventable so let's prevent it. I'm going to get into the Dark Web and search for off book doctors and Doctors-With-Passion-R-Us."

"Those are actual organizations?" I look at him with a smirk.

"Yes, Miles. Of course they're real organizations." I say sarcastically. Miles rolls his eyes and hops off the bed.

"Anything else you need me to get, Skye?" I thought about it as I faced the ceiling.

"An orange would be nice-preferably a Mandarin. And Link's bag. I have a feeling we might need it." I say slowly. Link starts squirming in his crib.

"Damn Mother's intuition." Miles mutters as he starts jogging out of the room. "'Why can't men have it?' I don't know."

I smile as I climb off the bed and walk around to tend Link.

"Hey there, baby!" I cooed. He smiles up at me and starts giggling. He proceeds to then turn onto his stomach and turn around to face me while holding onto the crib. He definitely wants to learn how to walk even though he can barely hold on to his own crib.

"Alright, Link." I murmur, kissing his bald little head and picking him up by his bottom. He starts jumping up and down excitedly and I plop down on the floor and let him go. He looks back at me for a millisecond before crawling swiftly to the recliner. Holding tight onto the edge, he starts giggling as he "walks" all around the chair.

"Don't hurt yourself, Link." I mutter as I look through Miles' encrypted phone. Suddenly, a new message comes in. It's coded at first, the phrases shifting from letters to numbers and symbols at about a 90 Words Per Minute rate which gradually slows until I'm left with the message,

'Who are you and why should we help you?'

I quickly text back,

'My name's SKYE. I'm a famous Rising Tide Hacker. I'm also the one from the news, 'Quake'

'Prove it.'

I glanced over at Link who seemed to be enjoying hanging off the recliner for his dear life before opening the camera. I quickly snap a picture and something written on a piece of paper in the picture that only I would know (Miles *our group's semi-leader* once violated our Hacktivists rules. Only a select few knew of it). Then, I send a very specific report(it's just a two sentenced text), based on my greatest exploits.

It seemed to do the job.

'SKYE? How did you become Quake?'

'Not your problem. I need fake birth certificates, licenses, and Social Security.'

'Not even a warm hello, SKYE? We were once your family.'

'Well, we never rolled like that and all of you in the R.T. know that.'

'True. I'm going to need pictures for the licenses and names for everything else.'

I quickly sent them a picture of me which belonged to a photo shoot I had made sure to look 100% awkward. Just like the real DMV license photos.

'I'm gonna need you to do one license, Social Security, and Birth Certificate with this photo. Name is Dennise Wang-London.'

I snapped a photo of Miles' photo from the same photo shoot.

'Another of the trio for this picture. Name is Adrian London. And another set of Birth Certificate and Social Security for an 8 month old baby named Lincoln London.'

Link started giggling and crawled over yelling 'MAMA!' Miles suddenly entered as well, coming back with his arms full of junk food. My mandarin was on top of the pile and Link's bag was hanging from his left arm. I grabbed Link and walked over to Miles.

"We're all getting new identification so Link can finally get a real checkup." I told him, allowing Link to jump into his arms. Everything went to the floor as Miles attempted to catch Link.

"Oh that's fine. And for future reference, don't you ever do that again. I almost had a heart attack." I chuckled at his statement and climbed onto the bed where all of the junk food had fallen. As I sifted through the junk food, a soft ringtone came to my attention. It was Mile's. I rushed to pick it up off the floor and answer it. I only heard Fury's voice.

"The tracing begins... **Now**."

* * *

 **I honestly tried to add some fluff into it because it's the holidays. But I really needed to get moving with the plot so it didn't work out so well. Plus, it's not christmas in the plot. I don't know if this is going to turn out a DaisyxMiles fic but it depends on what you guys want. As always, please review if there's anything you'd like to say. It's one of the best things about fanfiction-you can interact with the author.**

 **Anyways guys, I think that's it.**

 **Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or anything else you celebrate!**

 **Byeee!**


	3. 3) One Step Forward, Three Steps Back

**Thanks for all the support on this story! Thank you Lilomaus223, Tamara(Guest), Kurio 002, kklvshorses, katerinadrv, sarahmdavid, betmakay, ange lumiere, Mary Elrondile, ab . VS . rv . KSG (I spaced it out because your name kept disappearing from the list), dixie326, Tremors, and kuroneko200. I'm sorry if I misspelled any names. Tell me if I missed you to get a PM with a sneak peek at the next chapter.**

 **So, I got one review explaining they want a Steve/Skye story. I'm cool with that. I could make all of the Avengers eventually come into the story. What do you guys think? Tell me what you think when you finish reading this chapter! I'd really love to know..**

* * *

"I can't be here. Can't do this, I gotta go." I mumbled silently as I rushed around, picking up Link's bag, the keys, and Link.

"What are you talking about, Skye? You told me you had to leave today for the Fury meeting but I don't think this is the way a normal person prepares for a meeting."

"Screw off, Miles." I said as I slammed the door behind me. Link jumped and started crying. "Not right now, baby," I pleaded with him. "Not right now. Mama had a nightmare 'cause mama and Miles made bad decisions. Mostly mama."

It was terrifying. As if I had lived the moment again. The betrayal, the heartbreak. Then, the flashbacks. Hydra, Ward, Trip, my powers, the afterlife, my mom and dad, Hive, all the bad things and finally, losing Lincoln. My heart aches and Miles started it. My family started it. I tried to calm down. For Link. I had to.

I hurried my way down the stairs.

 _"The tracing begins... Now." Fury's voice barked and I knew he was only semi-talking to me. He couldn't be rude to the one who just saved his life...Right?_

 _"You found me. You saved me. I know for a fact you needed me. Please tell me it's not a waste of my time."_

 _"It's not." I said confidently as I put the phone on speaker, holding a finger up to my lips. "It's a lead I've been following for months."_

 _"What kind of lead?"_

 _"One that could potentially kill thousands and make many families fall_ _apart."_

 _"What could possibly do that?"_

 _"Som_ e _thing that_ _I'll only speak about in person."_

 _"Give me something to rely on. I can't come over on a hunch. I was on a mission. Give me a reason to put that mission on hold."_

 _"Didn't you hear me when I said it could 'potentially kill thousands and make many families fall apart'?" Miles snorted._

 _"Something other than that. For example, the reason why everything might potentially go to hell?" I glanced at Miles for assistance. He shrugged and continued to play with Link. Telling the truth it was._

 _"The Watchdogs. They're regrouping and forming ranks. What once was a simple group chat on the Deep Web became an army. I think they're planning something. Something huge."_

 _Fury paused._

 _"Who exactly is the 'Watchdogs'?"_

 _"Have you been living under a rock?"_

 _"Well, you can tell me. I'm sorry if I'm the one that is technically not supposed to be alive."_

 _"Right. And I don't technically exist. Well, the Watchdogs is a type of-what now can be classified as-a terrorist organization hellbent on taking the Inhumans-and anyone who stands in their way, down. Recently however, their targets have been sparsed, more erratic, and way more aimless. A gambling ring, a man who was working undercover, an innocent man on Cray St., a teacher. It's gotten out of hand. We need to find out their end game."_

Weighing the pros and cons of leaving as I strapped Link into his car seat before sliding the door shut, I realized that I really didn't care. I could find Fury on my own. I didn't need him to trace me. I could find him. I just need to lay low for a while. My pregnancy mood swings kind of destroyed cities. The Watchdogs already know me. Hell, I think even Tony Stark knows who I am.

I need a disguise something not too obvious but also something to draw attention away from my face. Many people know me as Quake but they won't know me as a mother. That's it! At Transia! On the roof. I remember placing things overtime, hair extensions, the robin, an outfit, an automatic, Lincoln's jacket. It had become my pillar. A way to leave my past behind.

I need to go back.

* * *

 **So, this chapter was kind of angsty. And short. I'm sorry? We are rapidly approaching the moment where Coulson and Mack almost catch her in the Season 3 finale. Although I'm going to change somethings, for example, it would have been around a year and 4 months before it. As you can see, this will be as canon as possible, kind of following the same basic plot line. I'm not sure if I should bring in Ghost Rider or not. For the next chapter, you guys have two options:**

 **Option A: Daisy brings Link with her to meet Robin and her mother and gets caught by Coulson and Mack.**

 **Option B: Daisy leaves Link alone for a little bit while she quickly goes to meet Robin and her mother. She escapes Coulson and Mack but finds out that something happened to Link..**

 **Option A won by a landslide! If anyone is curious enough to see how Option B would turn out, I'm willing to write it out in another story. A continuation that is non-canon spin off to a non-canon semi-AU story of a TV show :D Anyways, I should have chapter 4 up by the end of the week, if not it will be split into two parts since I have a huge plot bunny. I might have to hurry though because Writer's Block is trying to catch it :D See you guys in my next installation.**


	4. 4)The Phases of an Unsuccessful Strategy

**Sunday: " _Option_** _ **A** **_won by a landslide! If anyone is curious enough to see how Option B would turn out, I'm willing to write it out in another story. A continuation that is_ non-canon spin off _to a non-canon semi-AU story of a TV show :D Anyways, I should have chapter 4 up by the end of the week, if not it will be split into two parts since I have a huge plot bunny. I might have to hurry though because Writer's Block is trying to catch it :D"_**_

 **Thanks to all the people who reviewed, favourited, and followed! You guys are awesome:** **Lilomaus223, Tamara(Guest), Kurio 002, kklvshorses, katerinadrv, sarahmdavid, betmakay, ange lumiere, Mary Elrondile, ab . VS . rv . KSG , dixie326, Tremors, kuroneko200, CM6SHIELD6PLL6, axllow12, Celia, Bren, NN010, PitchpleaselearnyourABCS, angela22zuni, and arranmore13. I'm sorry if I misspelled any names. Tell me if I missed you to get a PM with a sneak peek at the next chapter.**

 **This is Option A... Enjoy!**

* * *

Standing before that huge Transia building, a huge realization dawned on me. I am screwed. They were having huge security issues ever since that time on the roof and the revelation...

I always knew it. When Transia lost close to fifty or more men in the building, they practically deserted it. That's how come I was able to place all my things on the roof. Needless to say, someone's home and judging by how brightly lit the building was, it was Daddy Bigbucks, chairman Niel Cooper. He always supported Transia and apparently he convinced a new CEO to keep the company going.

Crap.

I kicked a can in frustration and Link giggled. I glanced down at my boy. He seemed to be having fun watching mama being angry. At first, he was scared but now he's living in the moment. I chuckled.

"You think that's funny, Link? Watch this," I quaked the can halfway across the street. Link was practically screeching with laughter. He threw his hands up in delight.

BOOOSH

I whipped around just in time to see a street light blow up.

No.

Link. His laugh chorused through the empty street but I no longer laughed. He continued to "clap" excitedly and then he put his fist into his drooly mouth.

"No, Link" I chastised, giving him his teething toy, "Use this."

His nose scrunched up and he started to cry, throwing the teething toy and starting to reach for me. I sighed and picked him up also picking up the toy and tossing it into his car seat. The street light could've been a coincidence. On a brightly lit street, it was sure a fuse had blown. It was also crazy coincidental that Link displayed a whole bunch of emotion and threw his hands up when the fuse blew. I might just have an active imagination. Ok, I do have an active imagination. But it is also possible that what I think just happened actually did just happen. Either way, Link was fussy and I really do not have time on my side. I mean, technically it was on my side since I'd probably have to stake out Transia, but still, my point stands. And I need those things to escape.

Robin's mother, Polly, was surprisingly a Rising Tide member as well, which made things all the more convenient. We'd meet pretending to be old friends and she'd give me my "present" and I'll give Robin her wood carving. Of course, Polly doesn't know exactly why I requested her to deliver the forged documents and why I requested she bring along Robin. She'll be very cautious. I know why. Robin was only three. Polly didn't exactly know who "Skye" was and losing a child that young must be horrible. I would do anything for Link and I'm betting she would do the same for Robin. I had made deposits toward her, however, with the name "Daisy". I had also relocated them. All she knew was Daisy Johnson, the mentally stable and fit Daisy Johnson. She hadn't met Skye. Link didn't come early enough to meet her either.

I hope they never get to know her.

Skye, I, hid behind jokes. I was the one who put the weight on my shoulders every night. I was a broken little orphan who didn't know what home was. A broken little orphan who put on a show day and night just to watch the others buy into it, watching and interacting accordingly. An orphan who started breaking her shell if she stayed too long in one place. The fool who didn't know what love was and thought love came from men like Miles and Ward and still, there was Skye in me. I was still Skye and yet I became Daisy Johnson. She was a person I liked much better, but she was also the person I'd be for the rest of my life. My official name. The name of the woman who was supposed to have a perfect life. Taken out for ice cream, a mother who would help me through everything and a father who would take me out to my first date. Maybe I would've even had a little brother I would've taken care of. A sibling who helped me learn who to take care of my own future children. But that didn't happen. "Daisy Johnson" didn't even know who she was or how old she was until she was 26. Until I was 26. All because Hydra was too damn curious about my mother and that damn Obelisk. My mother turned out being a monster and my father wasn't so bad after going through a memory wipe. He didn't know he had a daughter. Still, by Joey and recruiting other inhumans, I found who I was again. Well, technically I found myself for the first time. Then everything went to hell. Completely diminished. Straight to hell.

Link started fussing again, reminding me once again how far I had gone into my thoughts. Link's father might be dead, but I promise that I'll do better for him than anyone ever did for me, even Coulson. I tried calming him as I sat down on the street curb. Transia must've updated their security, big time. After the huge break in almost a year and a half ago. If I risked breaking in now, I would most likely get caught, if not physically than mentally. Anyone who's looking for me would be able to spot me in any CCTV footage with all the new cameras they must've put in that building. Or the little earthquakes in the area I would have to set off in order to get past all the security measures they've probably added. I think a prominent feature would be more guards and fighting would be tough with Link nearby. Anyone could easily steal him and then he would become a liaison for my demise. I could go in a less aggressive way, sneaking in. But I'd have to have blueprints and schematics to the building. Which air ducts to take, how often guards exchange positions, which end has the roof exit, and much much more. I could hack past Transia's firewall and create an algorithm for the exchange rates based on the CCTV footage they must have in their system. Or I could put them on lock down and disguise it as a lock down disguised as a hacking. It would totally give them a run for their money and if I play my cards right, I could make the whole ordeal untraceable never to be known who caused it. Or frame a rival company for the attack. Either would be better.

Hacking into the system could also provide a window for me to walk freely because I could shut down all CCTV cameras and maybe all power in general in order to walk freely. Transia might be prepared for that with night vision goggles but in a lock down, a scared mother is a person to be left alone. Or hopefully, they view it that way. It seemed a strong plan, so I quickly picked up the car seat, jogged back to the van and rushed to begin my research.

Link's teething was quickly becoming a problem. He was always fussing. It was rare the time I got to be alone since he always wanted to be in my arms. I had stopped personally watching the cameras to feed Link his bottle so he could take his mid-day nap. Waking up at five today must've disturbed his sleeping schedule but it wasn't like his sleeping schedule was already set in stone. Link was still having trouble getting a schedule down.

I think I have my plan pretty much set in stone but the amazing firewall system Transia put up had just reminded me of how much harder this was going to be than last time. I mean, I don't have the threat of an inhuman overlord who looks likes like Ward or just a delusional psychopath after my guts but still, Transia was a lot more adept at keeping unwanted guests out.

Wait, that's it! If they want to keep unwanted guests out, maybe I shouldn't be an unwanted guest. I already hacked into their system, I can make a fake appointment with Link and we wouldn't face any danger at all. I'd just have to avoid cameras.

This is perfect!

It meant I could safely take Link where ever I pleased and they wouldn't even be slightly alarmed. With Link on one hip, I quickly began my work. His nap would have to wait for now.

I think this would be the fifth time in my entire life I've visited a populated library. All I really wanted to do was 3D print my card, print onto that card and laminate it in order to be completely ready for my Transia appointment at five o'clock. It was one now and I had to work quickly if I ever want to make it there. I brought my old library card in case anybody wanted to ask for proof. The visit should take close to twenty minutes with the three things I need to do and waiting in line will take approximately ten minutes, which takes thirty minutes from my time. Getting to the 3D printer which is on the third floor will take approximately ten more minutes with Link and getting back to the first floor will take like eight minutes because I go down the stairs faster.

"That's forty-eight minutes" I mutter quickly giving Link a kiss. He was falling asleep in my arms.

It would take seven minutes to get to the freeway which is forty-five minutes and twenty more minutes to get to the surrounding area of Transia. So that would take about an hour and five minutes. Trying to sneak around and clean up with Link in bathrooms around the city buildings will be tough and take about an hour depending on how fussy Link gets. That would bring me to 3:53 PM. They told me to be there thirty minutes earlier so I'd need to be there by 4:30 PM. That gives me enough time to figure out exactly what I'm going to say and do before Transia. You can never prepare too much.

We're finally here. Holding Link close up to my chest, I smiled. He might be a little spoiled, I admit, but he couldn't look any cuter in his little tux. Miles had gotten it. He said it was going to be for a church service that we never got to go to. I don't think Miles even believes in God anyways.

If there was a God out there, I could really use some help. I close my eyes as I swiped the card through security, hoping it would work out fine. I peeked over and saw the green light and the sound of the card being approved.

"Yes!" I kissed Link on his bald little head and pushed past through the turnstile. I smiled and waved at the security guard. He waved back and resumed his work. I giddily stride towards the elevators. I had an appointment to join Transia as more than an intern (according to the system), and after that, I will go to the roof because as it states in my Transia file, I love the birdseye view. After that, I'll quickly head back to my van and it'll be showtime.

Hopefully, nothing will go wrong and Link will be visiting a doctor in no time.

When the big sweaty guy in the suit placed his hand between the elevator doors and entered, I decided that it couldn't get any worse than that. Right? I mean, this was going to be easy. Pfft, super easy. Getting the docs would be super easier and setting up the appointment would be the easiest. Honestly, what could go wrong?

"Uh, fifth floor, please." I rolled my eyes and pressed the button. As if he couldn't do it for himself. I patiently waited until I arrived on the third floor and casually walk into the administration office for the interview of a job that I was only going to be at for today and sat down.

"Hello, Miss Coulson." It was a funny way of honouring Coulson. "Skye Coulson". Sometimes, (only sometimes) did I wish it was a reality. It would be awesome to be Coulson's kickass daughter. The Coulsons back at it again. I wonder if people would've ever bought it.

"Hi," I muttered, acting flustered as an intern would be.

"I never knew you had a son. Hell, I never even knew you worked here!" I smiled.

"Well, I don't. I'm an intern; well, was an intern, and this is my son, Link."

"Well, Skye, the intern, Link is a cutie. I love his grey eyes-"

"Thank you"

"Yes, well... I hear you're interested in working here?"

" Yup," I said sitting Link in my lap. " I think I would totally love a job here, working here has proven to me that it is the place I want to be."

"Umhmm. Tell me why you want to work here, Skye?"

"Well as a kid, I always loved computer science and now as an adult, I would love to continue that work here and help code a couple of scientific breakthroughs." I smiled indicating it as a joke and Mrs. Wilson just chuckled. Great going there, Daisy.

"Good, that was good. Ok, when will you be available?"

"When? Every single day at any time. Link has a very nice grandmother who likes to take care of him and I have many other things and bills to take care of."

"Umhmm. Do you understand minimum wage scientists are paid fifteen dollars per hour, yes?"

"Yes, yes," I responded quickly. "I understand. This is my dream job, I would do it for free if I didn't have bills to pay"

Ms. Wilson offered a dry chuckle.

"Ok. I think that's all I'll need since you've already been with us for over a year as an intern. I can't believe I haven't seen you!"

"It's a big building, ma'am. We also had that huge break in that wiped out a quarter of the building and we also abandoned the building for a couple of months but luckily now with the help of chairman Neil Cooper, we can keep on rebuilding Transia for the better and remember and honour those who have passed."

"Agreed, miss Coulson, agreed. I will call you back if you got the job, alright? If you never hear from me than assume the worst and stay away"

My eyes widened in horror.

"It's a joke, rookie. Go home and get some rest. You could look around if you want however, I'm sure you'll see a few friendly faces."

"Thank you, Mrs. Wilson."

"Please Skye, call me Jamie."

"Ok, Jamie. Goodbye," Internally, I was screaming. Phase 1 completed. Time for Phase 2, getting the stuff and getting out.

I had seen on the elevator a button which read 21. This building only had 20 accessible semi-public floors while the 21st was just another way to say rooftop. Link wasn't fussy in the least. He seemed a lot more drowsy than anything which meant I NEEDED to get him some sleep.

"Real soon, baby" I promised him. "Real soon you and mama are going to take a long nap and then you are going to visit the doctor."

He cooed and softly whispered "Mama" before falling asleep. I don't know how because elevators scared me. If they hadn't scared me before, they terrify me now, especially because with every single bump, I feel the cables vibrate and create a hum, wanting to break but remaining the same. It's difficult to explain, like feeling as if the cables were going to snap times 1000. It was extremely terrifying but we made it.

The doors of the elevator scraped open and the sudden gush of wind gave me goosebumps. Link must've been cold too, but he was the one wearing a three-piece suit while I was stuck in an open dress. In fact, Link was sweating before the wind so it actually must've been pretty alleviating for him.

Not for me. It's cold as hell out here...figuratively speaking, of course. I mean, there's no way hell could be cold and-it was a stupid metaphor but my point still stands. As I exited the elevator, the rubble crushed beneath my heels. It had been so long since I had been on a rooftop. The honking of cars, the yelling, the zooming and busy rush of people and cars. It seemed all different up here. It kind of felt good to listen to the bustling city, but I had work to do. I walked dubiously over to the broken vent. My pillar.

It's time. Link needs me.

I slowly shifted Link to one side and reached in for the camouflage bag. Carefully, I dumped its contents onto the floor. Pistol, check. Emo badass chick outfit, check. Black hair extensions, triple check. Wooden Robin, check. Lincoln's personal jacket, check. Side knife, check. ICER, check. Makeup, check.

Everything I needed seemed to be here. I carefully struggled to place everything back into the camouflage bag before I placed that bag inside of Link's huge baby bag. Nobody would notice and I can run home free.

Home free was the van and checking up with Polly. Phase 2 had gone off without a hitch and the final and easiest Phase 3 was coming to play. If nothing had gone wrong with the first two, then this one would breeze by.

Polly had been attending the same place with her daughter for two weeks just to see the doves on the street and get fresh air, I agreed to meet with her during this time and to reassure her that I was not coming after her or her daughter, I sent her a picture of Link proof that he was Skye's son. She had told me she was a bit reassured but she didn't want me to be surprised if she had her guard up.

Reluctantly, she agreed to meet at seven which meant I have an hour and a half to get ready.

"Get ready, baby," I whispered to Link as I got dressed. "You're on your way to becoming official."

Getting there hadn't been the easiest, but now I realized talking was going to be the hardest part. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been tailing Polly. I saw Mack doing a perimeter run when I was driving into the square. I learned my best bet was to walk, stop and talk quickly and move on. It was the only way.

I loved them too much. It was like that man said, Death follows me where ever I go.

I parked the van and hopped out of the seat. Sliding the door softly, I put the Link's bag over my shoulder and unbuckle him. He was still in his suit. It fit him pretty good and he looked adorable. I unzipped the bag in order to be prepared to grab, bag, and dash and picked up Link who wanted very desperately to be wide awake but couldn't even bear to open his eyes. It was simultaneously heartbreaking and hilarious.

I slide the door shut and leave the van in a haste. I tried my best to maintain a composure but I felt explosive. Like how I felt when I first got my powers, as if a thousand bees were buzzing inside me constantly. I felt like I could murder someone with all this energy.

Tripp

Don't think about it, Daisy. Do not think about it. I continued walking, slumping and pretending I hated the world. It was part of the emo look, but it wasn't too far off.

I had already staked the place out while I did my circles in the van. Polly was sitting with Robin and her purple stroller to the right on a bench in a circle. It wasn't that full, but it was crowded enough.

Link was sleeping not-so-soundly in my arms and the city was calming down after it's usual traffic at five so it wasn't quite that full yet there are more people here than you'd ever see in the country.

I spotted Polly and shuffled over in front of her before stopping, looking at the Cafe in front of me, pretending to be in the line to enter.

"Is that you?" Polly asked. "I've got your files."

I glanced over at her as I shifted Link. Polly gasped when she saw me.

"I know you! You're _Skye_? I thought you were-" I looked back at the cafe.

"I was Skye. Let's just say I changed my name."

"Who's the baby? He's adorable." She asked, trying to change the subject.

"This is Link. He's very tired." I state blatantly.

"Ok," she muttered. "You know, I wanted to thank you. The money was too generous. To help us relocate... I was treated as a Pariah back home."

I glanced in her direction before turning and kneeling in front of Robin. Polly held Robin's hand cautiously. I shifted Link and picked the robin out of the bag. I tried to form my words before finally saying them, "Do you like animals?"

"Yeah," Robin said gleefully as she awkwardly positioned her hands at her side. I held Link tighter as I leaned forward and offered her the wooden toy. I took a breath, trying not to remember Charles.

"Your dad made this. It's a Robin...like you." Robin shifted uncomfortably before accepting the little wooden toy. I heard tires screeching far away. Dammit.

"You've been a real friend," Polly started looking at me fondly. She started to reach for the files but I shook my head. If S.H.I.E.L.D. did catch me today, and that's a big if, I didn't want them knowing anything. I looked over at Robin and she reminded me of something.

"I actually wanted to introduce you to a friend of mine. He has a practice near here. I think you'd get along," I glimpsed at Link before I looked up at Robin. "He likes animals, too."

That sure made Robin's grin grow.

"You're too kind" Polly complimented once again. I looked up at her.

"Just keeping a promise," the trucks were really close now. I waved goodbye at Robin and stood up. I made a beeline for the alley not caring for diversion. They were already onto me. When I saw the trucks is when I really started to sprint. I heard them stop behind me and some doors slam as I turned into the alleyway. My van was open prepared to dash. I quickly throw the bag inside and tie Link by the easiest buckle(the top) and slammed the door shut. Link started wailing as I hopped into the driver's seat and stuck the keys into the engine. I turned the key and put my van in drive. Coulson, Mack, and some other guys appeared in the alleyway one after another.

I can't run them over.

I reluctantly put the car in park and climbed back over my seat into the back area. I unbuckled Link and quietly pushed the back door open. I pick Link up and slide off the back. Looking around, I decide to run towards the door of the white building. It looks abandoned but if I can make it to the other side, I can try to blend in with the crowd. I ripped out my hat and extensions and threw them behind me. Starting my run, I hear Coulson yell, "THERE! ALL UNITS FALL IN!"

I try to push past the door but it doesn't work, leaving me to believe that it was locked. With no time to quake it or bust it open myself, I deflect and run up the stairs. Link's cries were resounding and heartbreaking but I couldn't stop. He'd probably have to go through a million of tests once S.H.I.E.L.D. figure out who his parents are. I can't have that. It made me feel terrible when I went through it, I can't imagine having Link go through it himself. No, I have to keep running. The stairs led to an indoor hallway which had three doors. Two were bolted and metal and the last one at the end was only metal. I rushed to the door and turned around to force all of my weight on it but it wouldn't budge. Well, this is it. Either quake it or lose it. I heard the Tac team begin to march up the stairs as I shift Link and begin my work. I close my eyes and concentrate on the hinges, on what I want the quakes to affect and I take my aim. My hand starts to shake as I feel the vibrations coming.

"Stand down, Quake!" I hear a foreign voice demand. The quake starts and I quickly open my eyes and aim at the first hinge. Link is crying his lungs out at this point.

"DAISY!" Coulson yells as the door blows, "STOP!"

I sigh and turn around, raising my right hand up.

"Weapons?"Coulson asked. I hesitantly move my hand behind my back and grab the handgun from my waistline and toss it forward.

"And the knife? You took two weapons when you left S.H.I.E.L.D. And a-a-a-" Mack looked at a clipboard one of the other men handed him, "knife. That's a crime by the way. Along with all the other crimes you've committed so far."

I rolled my eyes and picked the knife out of my pocket and tossed it onto the floor. Mack turned back.

"Lewis, go get the baby." I glanced down at Link scared. I haven't been separated from him since he was born. Only a couple of minutes but never any farther. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving him. I held him tighter than ever before, giving him a tight hug. He calmed down a little but still whimpered with an occasional sniffle, seemingly glad that all the action had stopped and he finally had his mommy back.

And yet, he was about to lose her.

The man started to walk towards me and Link and I backed up.

"Please don't do this," I begged. "Please don't take him away."

"I'm sorry, Quake. It has to be done. I'm not the one whose ordering this." I gazed at Mack.

"Please, Mack, don't take him."

"Just give the baby to Lewis, Daisy. We just need to-"

"Mack, Lewis." Coulson sighed. "Stop. Agent Lewis, come back."

I glanced over at Coulson. Mack did the same. Lewis tactically walked back into place. Coulson pat him on the back, "It's ok, rookie." Coulson stepped forward himself, making sure to make eye contact as he threw his gun into the small pile. He took off his vest and threw his side arm and his pocket knife. He raised his hands and stepped over the pile of weapons and armour. He inched towards me but I backed up.

I can't. I can't do this. I can't.

I was in a corner before I knew it. Coulson kept advancing and the space between us was getting minuscule.

I pressed up against the wall.

"Daisy," Coulson started. He took another step, "Please, listen. Keep listening to my voice. You can trust me."

He took the last step and pulled me into a hug. I hyperventilated but the tears came down anyways and stronger than ever. I was sobbing now how Link was earlier. We stood in that position for a few moments, my knees feeling like jelly.

"Let me take him, Daisy. I just want to keep you both safe. Both of you, I promise."Backing away, I blinked through my tears. I searched Coulson's eyes before staring into Link's blueish-grey ones and giving him a tight hug.

"I love you," I whispered onto his forehead before giving him a kiss. Reluctantly passing Link into Coulson's arms, I made a quick prayer to any god out there who was listening to keep Link safe. Coulson took him into his arms and lead me to the tactical team. I was put in cuffs and lead down the stairs.

As long as Link was safe, right?

* * *

 **That has to be the biggest chapter I've written so far. Skye's story might as well be renamed "A series of unfortunate events", am I right?**

 **Please favorite if you like it, follow for more chapters, and review to tell me what you liked. With a new chapter comes new questions! Most of them are small but I think you guys would enjoy participating and chipping in. So,**

 **1\. What do you think Link's full name should be?**

 **2\. What do you think Link should look like? He's going to have light eyes regardless but does he have dark or light hair? For references, check out the Instagram I made for these types of situations. Just search "destructiveauthor" exactly like that and I should be the first one to pop up. (Feel free to message me on there for questions or more references as well).**

 **3\. What do you think is the team's reactions to finding out who Link really is?**

 **4\. What do you want to see happen in the next chapter?**

 **You don't have to answer all of the questions but answering any would be nice and help out a lot. Thanks..**


	5. 5) Loose Ends & If I Stay

**Hey guys. I know it's been almost a whole year but I had accidently deleted chapter 5 and it completely diminished any motivitation for the chapter. Sorry but here's a 10k word update at least.**

* * *

"HELLO! SOMEBODY?!" I stood patiently at the door. I moved back to the camera.

"I KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING!" Annoyed, I fell back into the bed. "CAN I AT LEAST HAVE MY CHILD BACK? YOU KNOW, THE ONE I GAVE BIRTH TO?"

Whoever was there was ignoring me. The "view" wasn't exactly helping either. A monitor which switched pictures every ten minutes was a bad idea if we're talking about color. I've been in these once before but now it's really starting to sink in. It feels like a prison. Maybe Li-No. I can't think like that. Can I?

No. I have to- SWISSH

I quickly got back on my feet to see Mack entering.

"Heey" I say lamely, offering a weak wave.

"I wanted to apologize for my actions. I was a bit rough-"

"A bit?"

"Daisy, we do have to remember the chaos you've caused. And you left so abruptly without any contact at all. Forgive us for being cautious."

"But you know me Mack. Do you really think I'd hurt you?" I winced when he looked down, remembering all the times I did. "At least... I don't know. I don't want to be the same anymore. Not with my baby and all."

"I know. But there are consequences, Daisy. And there's a new director, and I have a feeling you won't like his new consequences. Coulson can only suggest he doesn't go as hard as he needs to."

"Wait a second. A new director? What are you talking about? Coulson stepped down?"

"Yes"

"For what?! Coulson was doing amazing before I left!"

"You answered your own question. Before you left."

"Oh"

It was a lot to take in. How could Coulson just step down like that? With or without me, this job was literally made for him. He was perfect at it. How could he just abandon the fact.

"And my baby?"

"About that-"

"What happened?"

"Nothing. The director wants to know more about him before we can give him back." I sighed in frustration.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No. Just a select few questions and we'll be through. Trust me, Daisy. I understand the pain."

"How could you possibly understand?" Mack looked hurt by the question but continued nonetheless.

"Who are the baby's parents?"

"Me."

"And the father?"

"Classified."

"That can't possibly be classified. Not to the director."

"Well, the director can just shove these questions right up his-"

"Ok! Next question, how old is he?"

"Seven months, close to eight. His birthday is on July 3rd."

"And has he had any vaccinations?"

"Only the ones at birth."

"Is he an inhuman?"

"Only time will tell."

"What do you mean by that? Are you sure he's not?"

"As far as my knowledge, yes."

"Yes, he's inhuman or yes, he isn't?"

"Yes, he isn't"

"Is there any official documentation for him?"

"There was"

"What happened?"

"They were destroyed."

"Ok. We can make new ones,"

"I wouldn't prefer it."

"You can't exactly say no."

"I just did." Mack sighed.

"What is the child's full name?"

"He doesn't have one. To your knowledge. If you want something to call him, it's Link. If you want something to put on paper, it's nothing else."

"We can just put 'Link Johnson' and call it a day."

"But you won't."

"But we can"

"Have fun getting me to sign it."

"Come on, Daisy. I'm just trying to help."

"Help can be misguided"

"So can the refuser." I pulled out the chair from the desk and took a seat.

"Well as the refuser, tell the new director that I won't answer anymore questions unless he asks them personally. Also be a dear and tell him that I won't even move from this chair until he comes and gets me personally. I will eat, sleep, and pee in this chair if I have to, but I will not leave until the director comes here personally."

"Really, Daisy?" I nodded.

"This is ridiculous." I shrugged.

"He's not going to be happy with this." I changed my gaze to the wall and crossed my legs. "Ok. That's fine. Don't be mad when he's mad though. It's your own fault."

I could live with that.

Mack stays for a minute or two more waiting for me to react or respond before scoffing and leaving. "This is great, Daisy. Just great." I try to remain expressionless. Hopefully, he comes soon because I don't think I can hold up this façade much longer.

Third Person

Mack wasn't happy about Daisy's reactions to the questions. He could understand them, sure, but from an agent's perspective, they were kind of screwed. Well, he was kinda screwed.

For one, he had promised Director Mace full cooperation from Daisy if went in alone, which hadn't happened. And he had also promised him no need for a second visit by any other agent, much less him, himself which isn't going to happen either.

Needless to say, the director was going to be mad.

Usually Daisy was the one with this tablet in her hands, but today was the day that she was back, and it felt painfully awkward to have her here. Especially with her tag-along wild card. Speaking of him, Mack was passing the lab where both Fitz and Simmons were charged with taking care of him until further instructions/research were given/needed. There was no one on base with the qualifications to take care of him. There was no type of SHIELD daycare, but if anybody could take care of him, it was Fitzsimmons. They were the two smartest people on this base(and probably further than that), so it wasn't like it could be hard for them. Mack would help but he was busy helping other ways.

Jemma was holding the poor little child in her arms, wondering just exactly who's he was. People kinda had just rushed in and given her and Fitz this baby and kinda just said, "Hey, here's a baby. Take care of it." She had a sinking feeling he was Daisy's who had also been recently brought onto base. It made sense, especially since it actually clicked with the time she's been gone. But given if this baby was Daisy's, the problem wouldn't be maternal, it'd be paternal. She couldn't possibly imagine who the father is, especially with all the time under Hive's influence, Lord knows what she could have done.

Either way, Daisy would be a mom already.

"Delightful, isn't it Fitz?"

"What is?" He questioned from his computer where he was searching for good educational baby movies or shows the kid could watch.

"The idea of children. They're just adorable little muffins"

"Sure. Under the right circumstances, though, Jemma."

"Oh no. I'm not suggesting.. that-we have babies... No. I'm just, just saying that-um. Babies are cute." The blush between the awkward pair was clearly evident.

"Hmm." Fitz eventually said, turning around and looking at the little orb. "I guess they are, them tiny munchkins."

"I wonder what he's called?"

"Maybe Caleb? Or something like Henry?"

"It's Link" Mack called out from the hallway as he walked past. Fitz quickly attempted to chase him, fumbling his way out of the lab.

"How do you know that? Do you know the deal with the baby?" Mack didn't even turn back.

"Have to speak with the director." Fitz stopped in his tracks, letting Mack walk away before returning to the lab, defeated.

"Well, apparently, it's Link." Jemma lit up.

"Does he know anything about him, where he came from?"

"He wouldn't say. He's still got to have a chat with the director."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Fitz looked down at the chubby thing. Surely, Jemma was tired of holding him by now, wasn't she? He extended his hand and offered a finger to the child. Link happily grabbed it and ferociously shook it with all of a seven month old's might before attempting to put it in his mouth. Jemma started laughing as Fitz pulled his hand away in disgust and began looking for some paper towels. After getting lots of sleep, Link seemed to be on his best behavior today, rarely crying over anything but the betrayal by Fitz seemed to be the first and last straw for him as he finally decided that he was hungry. Obviously, Fitz and Simmons were confused as to what he wanted, and wanted to be careful with not wasting the limited supplies they had given them along with the baby.

Simmons tried shushing him and rocking him but that made him even louder, Fitz tried the cartoons he had so long searched for but it only seems to raise a pitch in the kid's wails. Simmons checked his diaper, and while she was getting there, she wasn't exactly sure still of what the baby wanted. So Fitz decided to stick a bottle in the child's mouth and hope it would shut up. It did. He did. And Jemma seemed proud even though she wasn't the one with the idea.

It was all green hills and blue skies from there until Jemma realised something dangerously important.

"Are we supposed to burp him after?" Fitz's eyes widened at the question.

"I don't know."

"Google it" Jemma said, standing up for the first time in a century with Link in her arms to move towards the computer.

"Well, it says here you can stop burping a child after anywhere from 4-9 months. So how old is he?" Simmons gave him an incredulous look.

"We don't know anything about this kid, Fitz. How am I supposed to know his age?"

"Right..." He continued to scan the page and found an answer a few paragraphs down. "Well, here it also says that 'usually you don't have to worry about burping your baby as much when they are able to sit up by themselves. This is because air bubbles rise up when they sit up or move around; so they are usually able to do it on their own.' Nice. So I guess, put him on the floor and test it out?" Simmons agreed and took away the bottle and set him down. Link began to scream, sitting up, and throwing his tantrum.

"I guess we have our answer," Simmons said, crouching to give Link his bottle back.

"He's a tad bit annoying," Fitz said scrunching up his nose "Isn't he?"

"Oh, Fitz" said Simmons, picking up a blanket and bringing herself down to the floor with him. "He's just a baby."

"Sure," Fitz said, reluctantly lowering himself onto the floor as well. Link looked at him from his sleeping position which Jemma had set him in. Fitz found himself lost in those greenish-blue eyes, however.

You know, Fitz was often feeling off after the... incident with the ocean.. but he had a feeling he couldn't shake off about the kid. He seemed too familiar to just be a random kid Daisy picked up to play victim or plead mercy. She had left long enough, and if he connected the dots, those eyes seemed way too familiar to be... random. He had seen them before, and he'd be damned if he kept his mouth shut about it.

"Who do you think his parents are, Jemma?" She looked up in hesitation. "Do you think he's-"

"Daisy's? Well we both do know the months add up,"

"And the fact that they were brought on base at the same time."

"Yes, I'm aware. What do you think? I think it's delightful that Daisy's a mom, don't you, Fitz?"

"Yes, but I think that's not the problem, see-"

"Well, I didn't state there's a problem with that. She is already 27, almost 28. It's not the most difficult time to have a child-"

"No-no-no. That is not what I meant. I only meant about the father thing. I wonder if he could be around? Who do you think he is?" Here is where Jemma stayed silent. At least, for a long bit before it got awkward.

"Well, two of the largest possibilities are dead, so..."She said quietly.

"Yes, but. Do you think anyone directly fathered this child? Just looking at him, no logical thinking, and just guessing?" Jemma glanced at the child, who was practically bending over backwards to stare at Fitz while downing his bottle. Fitz was absentmindedly speaking to her while softly soothing the small child. She wondered what was going through his mind. But most importantly, she tried to guess just by looking at the child, like Fitz suggested, trying to leave all physical and biochemistry out of it. All traits, physical analytics, etc. Not like you could observe much from a baby, but you could still very much see many things in small children which represent their parents, for example, if this child is Daisy's, he would've inherited his mother's detached earlobe, which is very uncommon, but then again earlobes are very much like eyes in the sense which they sometimes share incomplete or co-dominance with other earlobe genotypes.

Gah... she was doing it again. She couldn't help herself. It was absurd Fitz even asked her of such a thing. She tried again. Looking at the small child, sure he could be fussy, but he was delightful. Jemma reached out and placed another blanket on his lower end (he had one at his head as a pillow), when Link changed his gaze. He looked at her in fright for a second, and it clicked. She had seen the same 'deer-in-the-headlights' look from someone else with the exact same eyes.

Lincoln.

"Yes! I knew I couldn't possibly be alone in this feeling" Link was following the conversation now, turning his head to see Fitz talking. Jemma, however wasn't even aware she had spoken in the first place and-unlike Link, jumped at Fitz's sudden outburst. Well.. sudden to her, at least.

On another part of base, outbursts were certainly accepted, even invited, Coulson thought.

"This is all bluff. Watch her give it up in the next thirty minutes," the director stated. Coulson scoffed.

"Well, you definitely have not met Skye." May shared a knowing glare with Mack. He had just finished briefing the crew, and he kind of felt like disappearing now with all the social tension. The director put up the live feed of Daisy's room, having to switch the cameras a few times before getting a good angle of where she was sitting, legs crossed. Coulson's heart broke at the sight. To anyone else, she might seem tough or super stubborn, but Coulson could see right through her. Her anxious cheek biting, pulling of the sleeves, and her feet slightly fidgeting. She couldn't hide it if you had been with her for more than 48 hours. She wore her heart on her sleeve, like he's always told her.

"Let's test her bluff," Coulson didn't want to. Coulson wanted to end this now.

"No. I can go talk to her. I can also give her Link. She'd trust me. She trusts me."

"Coulson, we both know you have a soft spot for Daisy. If it were up to you, she'd be out and about all over base."

"But not because I'm attached," Coulson defended. "It's the right thing to do!"

"You obviously trust my judgement since you chose me to become director. So I say no. We wait... At least five hours."

"Two hours. And for the record, I never chose you." Coulson stormed out of the office and went to find Fitzsimmons whom he had left in charge of the baby. Link. He lied. He was going to give her an hour. An hour to give up. She didn't do anything. At least not in his book. He wasn't being objective either... It just was... It's inhumane what they're doing to her and her child just because she won't answer some questions. She was suffering for her baby, and even though Phil had personally never had a baby, she was like his baby and her suffering for her baby made him suffer for his. When he got to the lab, Fitz and Simmons were conversing quietly as Link slept between them, wrapped in a bundle of blankets with an empty bottle nearby.

He loved the sight, but had to quickly steal it from them.

"Any news, sir?"

"How's Daisy?"

"Is everything ok?" Coulson didn't reply, just looking at the little kid. He looked like an angel. Coulson crouched down next to them.

"Ok. Nothing's ok. I have a really bad feeling about how Director Mace is going on about this, and I'm going to need you, Jemma, to leave the room real quick." Fitz and Simmons exchanged looks but Simmons promptly got up and left, pacing in the hallway and looking in every so often. "I'm also going to need an emp, a flashbang, and an entrance to Daisy's room."

"Well," Fitz said. "Judging by that, your plan does not require any sort of flashbangs since Advanced Threat Containment Modules are not guarded whatsoever. And an emp would be powerless compared to this whole base, however, we both know Daisy can hack this whole base and all cameras, easy. First though, we might have to do a bit of hacking ourselves and send a SHIELD unlocked tablet down the mini Containment Module pretending to do a routine checkup. Then, the rest is history."

"Perfect, Fitz. You do that, I'll take care of Link." Coulson immediately picked up the sweet boy, rocking him softly in his arms. Link complained a bit before cooing and sucking on his pacifier to fall back asleep. It was the cutest thing ever if he did say so himself. He couldn't wait to give him back to his mother. She really deserved him.

First Person

I knew Coulson wouldn't hold up. Once I heard the power go out and the PA system come on, I knew who to expect. I told them to send down the tablet, which they did. I was amazed that they haven't updated the system in the year and three months I was gone for. It was easy to bypass the system and loop the cameras. Empty areas, I looped for hours while rooms like mine, I only had about half an hour to work with. Hopefully, it would work, if only as a distraction. I needed to get out, and even though I was sure that wasn't what Coulson was planning, I knew he couldn't be completely surprised once I escaped. The base was no place for a child, and if I had to leave Link, I would. But it would be a place of my choice. As soon as I set a timer for the power to come back on, I set the tablet back into the Mini Evac-unit and waited by the door.

Coulson should be coming any minute now. It only took a few moments before the doors swooshed open, Coulson, Fitz, and Link on the other side. I rushed to grab him from Coulson's arms, giving him the biggest kiss ever on his forehead. It prompted him to wake up, and his big blue eyes opened to stare up at me. I smiled and gave him another kiss.

"I love you" I said, hugging him as hard as I possibly could. It was going to be hard, but I knew in the end we could be together, I just have to tie up some loose ends.

I turned my attention to Coulson and Fitz who looked like sitting ducks.

"It was your idea, wasn't it?" I ask Coulson. I don't give any time to respond before I shift Link and pull him into a hug. "Thank you. Thank you so much. You don't know how much I love this kid, Coulson." He smiled.

"I've got a feeling."

"Yeah, well, I helped with the plan too, you know?"I heard Fitz mutter under his breath.

"Of course! Thank you too, Fitz" I said, rushing to hug him too. "Thank you both."

"Yeah, yeah" Fitz said nonchalantly, his cheeks red. "What now?"

Coulson seemed freaked out. "I didn't think so far out?"

"Yeah well, Director Mace is gonna kill us."

"I have a safe house. Nobody knows about it. Jemma used it back when she was in Hydra but it's in an old Hydra base so SHIELD can't go there without getting bad press. We can leave you there, Daisy, until we figure out how to brief this to the director. It won't be fun, but it's the best I got."

"Great thinking on your feet. Are you going to take me there or will I have to go by myself?"

"Unfortunately, that's the bad part. Fitz and I are under tight scrutiny. We can't just abandon ship without the ship getting mad and charging at us. We can however, send the best thing we do have."

"And who's that?"

"The Agents Koenig. They still have orders to operate under my command unless strictly asked for by the Director. They'll lead you straight to Jemma's old safe house where you can stay until everything cools down at base. I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you... Or Link." I searched his eyes, and they were soft and genuine.

"Ok,"

"Perfect. Keep on this underground tunnel until you can reach Exit B1-80 and continue on that exit until you reach the end. No one knows it exists because it's hidden but I've shown you everything on base. You know where it is. I'm going to contact them right now, and have them take you to the safe house. It's should be a half hour car ride and I'll make sure to mention baby supplies. Now go, Daisy. Go. We don't have much time"

"Thank you," I said, shifting Link to once more hug the both of them before rushing out of that white cell.

They were annoying to say in the least.

Surprised it was 'Quake' they were picking up, surprised she had a baby. Surprised about the fact that I was actually in front of them. They were "surprised" about a lot of things. Needless to say, they wouldn't shut up. I mean, they joke about it so much but I hope to God that there aren't anymore of them. They seemed to have a connection which only helped them flare each other up and seemed to drain others out. Others apparently not only being me since their banter had caused Link to fall asleep, but I would really prefer to switch places with him right about now. Especially since they expected me to join in on the conversation. It took all of my good will not to tell them both to shut up and that in itself is draining. Hopefully it'll be done soon though. Coulson said thirty minutes although it felt like an hour.

Soon enough, however, I found myself being ushered out of the van, into the safe house and being told to not leave under any circumstances and to just call if I need something(the phone has a direct line to them) and cameras are only in obvious security locations. All while reassuring me that I was not a prisoner. Which made me feel a bit more of one. At least there weren't any guards outside though. Spend enough time out on the fire escape, build a little trust and then just escape.

Truthfully, I don't want to leave, but I have to. I can't stay here. I just can't. Coulson must understand. He let me out for a reason, didn't he? He has to understand.

That's it.

Coulson understands so why would I have to beat around the bush? I'll just wait till the Keonigs leave, and then leave myself. Why build trust just to break it? I'll just destroy something that was never built back up in the first place. Then, at least, no one gets hurt...

right?

It doesn't matter. I have to leave. They don't understand and they can't understand. Not yet. Especially with them trying to make SHIELD official. It won't help to have a baby around that no one understands either.

No. I have to leave. I need to leave. For them. To protect them. To protect my son.

So I did. I waited until I heard the SHIELD van start up again and leave, I checked for a breaker box(which turned out being near the small kitchen by a closet), and shut everything off. I then walked over and pulled the window open which lead to the fire escape. I prepared the meh dai* with just about everything the Keonigs provided me with and put it on. It sorta had a tiny attachable back pack so it was perfect. I strapped Link in (in which he immediately began sleeping again), and walked back towards the window. I was on the second floor, so at least I wouldn't have to climb that much. I looked back at the amazingly furnished safe house before holding Link's head close to my chest and climbing through the window.

"Hello," I greeted the man two stories above me, trying not to look weird. Yeah, cause a woman jumping out of her window with all of the baby stuff in the world stuffed in a small back pack with a child strapped on her chest didn't look weird at all.

"Good morning." I squinted up at him, trying to focus in the blazing sun light. I attempted taming my hair as well, (which was blowing crazily with the alley wind), but it didn't really work out.

"Getting a good view up there?" I asked. He seemed to have a beer in his hand which took a sip out every other minute. I couldn't tell very well however since, one, the sun, and two, he had a brown paper bag wrapped around it to the tip.

"Nothing but brick walls. You get a better view if you look up, but it's a bit too bright for that now. It's gonna be noon, soon."

"Yup," I nodded questioningly. My right hand stayed on Link's head, my thumb now unconsciously soothing him. He seemed to be bored with the conversation, taking another long sip. "Hey?" I asked. He looked down at me again. "What state are we in?" He sighed heavily.

"What's up with you folks in that apartment never knowing where you're at? This is lower Massachusetts, closer to the edge of New York and Connecticut."

"Oh ok." He stared at me blankly for a couple of seconds before asking a question for himself.

"What are you up to? Not pulling a Madeline Jones, are you?" I was confused, and apparently, he noticed. "You're not running away and nabbing your son from his father, right?"

"Oh," I suddenly understood, yet my heart wrenched when I did. So I told him the truth. Well, the semi-truth. "No, no, no. His father's dead. I'm simply finding out this single mother life by myself. Don't know what I want to do, however."

"Oh ok then. I really don't care either way. Like what am I gonna do? Call the emergency hotline? Where you headin'? You seemed prepared to go." I scratched my head, trying to fix my hair out of my face another time.

"Well, I really ought to go to Cali. I got some friends there waiting for me and I don't really know how I ended up so far away. I really don't know how to get back either."

"I have my contacts." His response made me squint harder at him.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I know some people that can get you to Cali by the end of today. Where you tryin' to go?"

"Downtown Culver City? You know of it?"

"Definitely. I have a buddy with a private jet, goes to LAX all the time. He's got an obsession with Cali. Invited me a couple of times actually-"

"What's in it for you?"

"Pardon?"

"What's in it for you? I get a free private jet ride to Cali but you get nothing? You must want something in return? Nobody does anything out of the kindness of their heart."

"Ay, there. Who would pass up time to spend with the infamous 'Quake'? I may be a sort of drunk but I keep up with the times. Plus, it'd be a helluva good story to crack up with the boys in the spare time. No worries though. I bet this baby business isn't truly yours. It'd be all over the news if Quake had a child. That's why I asked if you were kidnapping him. Then again, he hasn't moved much. Is he a doll?"

"Let's just say that. When can you get your friend to come and get us?"

"Let me just hit him up. You can come up here if you want." He gestured for me to climb up before climbing back through his window. I hesitantly climbed up, reaching the fourth floor before he returned outside.

"Hey," he said, stretching his hand out. "My name is Danny."

"Daisy," I responded, switching hands to put on Link's head so I could shake his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, Daisy."

"We'll see about that." He turned his attention to his phone and started looking through his contacts, eventually calling one, named 'Josh' with several car and plane emojis after it. It was one of four 'Josh's in his phone. There was Josh with the emojis, 'Josh(Cousin)', 'Josh(ua)', and 'Josh(y)' with baby emojis. I aspire to know as many people with the same name as this dude one day in my life.

"Hey," He said as the other dude picked up. "Josh?" He waited a bit. "Yeah, yeah. Remember when you invited me to see LAX with you with the private jet sector and stuff?" It took a couple of seconds before Danny continued. "Well, how do you feel about having two and a half more passengers on with you today on your adventure?" I seemed to hear a subtle, "Dan, are you drunk?!" And I swear it took every ounce of my being to not burst out laughing right there. "Dan" looked down at the bottle in his hand and raised his head, readjusted the phone and said, "No."

There was a bit of frustration on the other line before Danny continued. "Well, can I go with my plus 1 or not?" I heard a huffed 'Fine' with some gibberish attached. "Oh no, dude. I promise It's not like that. You'll know when you see us." There was some more gibberish on the other line I couldn't make out. "Ok, what time?"

Soon after, the call ended and he turned to me. "We need to go. He told us to be at the airport by 1 and it's already 12."

"Ok... Do you have any clothes I can borrow? I mean.. I like this clothes and all, but I prefer a certain baggy style. And hats, I love hats."

"Sure, come on in. We have to hurry though. I have a couple of hoodies you can borrow and a beanie."

"That's perfect."

I made sure to avoid any and all cameras. It seemed impossible, but I did it. I have to. Danny had given me some worn out hoodies and a beanie. One hoodie was big enough to wrap around my meh dai, so that's a plus. And the hoodie part of the actual jacket covered bits of my face, making it extra hard for any facial recog. The beanie was just a cool plus. I love beanies.

This Josh dude looked like your typical rich douche who rarely deserved any of his money, but somehow had gained all of it. Kinda like Ian Quinn's innovative nephew who's had one too many breaks in his life. I had to roll up my sleeves in order to shake his hands. He commented on the obvious weird bulges in my hoodie, but with the looks I gave him, he left it alone. Danny was just a dimwit smiling throughout the whole interaction. Nice to know he was a happy drunk, at least.

The three of us mounted the jet and picked our seats, readying for takeoff. I took off my hoodie in order to detach the book bag and place it under my seat before zipping it back up. I pulled in my arms through the sleeves, fixed the neck whole over my head and stared at Link, his head gently tilted in his slumber. I held him, feeling the small patches of light hair that were sprouting. Don't get me wrong, he is bald, but his hair is growing. He was born with a head full of bronze soft hair, but eventually it all fell out, leaving him the bald baby he wasn't in his newborn stage. At least it was growing back, albeit slowly, but growing back nonetheless. I gave his forehead another peck, holding him tight against me.

I love him.

 **Just want to note that I know I've called Link's eyes everything from grey to green, but it's because I want him to have his father's eyes, and I swear if you search 'Luke Mitchell eyes' or 'eye color' you will find so many contradictions that you'd be amazed. I even found one website that stated his eyes as "light brown" which is where I draw the line. But just wanted to add a small explanation to my contradicting myself. I am fully convinced Luke's eyes are color-shifting.**

 **Ok and about the baby carrier thing, I don't know what they're called? Many people call them by their brand names, I've heard people call them papooses and many other things but I went with meh dai because it's one of the only names that you can search and it'll come up with an accurate depiction of what I'm trying to describe. And it also has asian roots which I thought was pretty cool.**

 **Anyways, perks of being Quake, am I right? (Or cons, especially with what I'm planning).**

 **I still haven't decided on a full name for Link. In case you guys want to have fun with that ;)**

 **Anyways, tell me what you think. Part 5 (Loose Ends) and Part 6 (If I Stay) are being published together, but hopefully you guys take the time to read this. I'll probably post it again on Part 6, however.**

 **I'm super excited to give these two long overdue updates. Hopefully it won't be a year and a half before I update again.**

* * *

Link is, I can say with all my heart, 100% the best decision I've ever made. Though he has been tough to deal with, I can be proud of at least something I've done in my life. Among the few other things. Once we were in the air, I had to pop out of my little shell because someone decided it was best to sit next to me.

Actually, two someones.

"So," Josh had said when he sat down. Which led to me pulling on the jacket sleeves and popping my head out of the hoodie. "How did you two meet?"

"Oh! We're not-"

"We haven't gotten there yet." I glared at Danny. The hell did he mean "haven't gotten there yet"?

"Umm, we're not dating. Or friends. We just met today, actually."

"Yeah," Danny continued, trying to play it cool. I cut him off before he could add anymore lies to the mix.

"I mean, I had just recently come to this apartment, I climb through the window, and I find him on the fire escape as well, two stories above me." Josh was stifling his laughs at this point, while Danny looked visibly annoyed. K.

I can't decide if this is better or worse than with the Keonigs.

"So you're Quake?"

"No"

"But you look exactly like her," Josh insisted, all banter gone from his tone.

"Look is not the same as be, Josh."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really. Would Quake have a baby and still be able to solo run missions? No. How on Earth could I be Quake?"

"The baby's real?" Danny finally spoke, cocking an eyebrow at my chest. I lowered the zipper and showed Link off.

"He's not fake, as far as I know. And I pushed him out, so I think I would."

"He hasn't moved," I rolled my eyes.

"You haven't seen him." I picked up Link's hand, which made him whine and remove it from my grasp, all while shifting into a new sleeping position. Danny looked amazed.

"What's his name?"

"Link."

"That's a cool name, I guess." Josh said staring st my child. Danny was looking at his general direction, but I had a feeling his mind was a hundred miles away.

"How long is this trip, anyways?"

"Around six hours. You're coming back with us on Wednesday, right?"

"Yeah totally. I'll have to leave for a bit though because I have some friends I want to see first."

"Ok. Can we have your number then, to make sure you're not late when the day comes?" Only digging myself deeper into this hole.

"Sure," I said, pulling out the book bag to get the small Samsung flip phone the Keonigs provided me with. "I like antiques" I snapped when they gave me weird stares.

"Ok, no judging. You know, if you're Quake, you can just say so, right?"

"I'm not Quake. If I pointed my hand at you right now, nothing would happen."

"Prove it" Danny said. Sometimes I wonder why my dumb self even trusts my decisions anymore. Why do I always subject myself to such torture? I raised my hand, and to be honest, it took much more self control than I thought I would need to not quake the fool out of his own seat.

"See, nothing. As if the baby wasn't enough."

"Ok, ok. What's your number?" Josh asked again. I looked it up on the phone and read it off to him, which promptly asked him what name he should put it under. I don't know if it was a genuine question, or just another sneak jab at me for being Quake. After the exchange, I excused myself, went to the bathroom, snapped the phone in half and flushed it down the toilet.

My reasoning? Well those two fools were reason enough beyond the standard issued SHIELD tracker. I changed Link as well, while in there. Actually, I did quite a few things while still in there just to avoid those bozos. I think I spent up to an hour in there. Once I finally got out, the dudes were up to their own shenanigans far away from my seat so I took the chance and finally followed in Link's non-existential (at least until now), footsteps and take a nap. I had the hoodie over Link and a blanket over myself which was pinched in between me and the seat so I would know immediately if they tried sneaking photos of me or Link.

I don't know how many hours later it is when I'm awoken by a gentle tapping.

"Hey.. um, Daisy? We're here." Josh sounded nervous. It was cute. I quickly got the blanket out from over my head, and glared up at him. "Hi," he repeated. "we kind of need to leave."

I nodded, trying to process what was going on. Where was I going? My head was a big pain, and this situation didn't help. I tried to get off my seat, but stumbled and fell back into it. The fall obviously affected Link, which prompted him to start crying. Also, the undeniable stench proves he may also be crying with a second motive. Josh extended his hand, and comforting Link with my left hand, I took his with my right and he helped me stand up. I attached the back pack once more, pulled on the hoodie, zipped it all the way past Link and continued on down the walkway with Josh and Dan.

"Ugh." Dan commented. Judging by his slur, sunglasses, hoodie, and the way he dragged his feet, he was starting to feel the side effects of drinking. "Can't you change him?"

"I'll change him now in one of the airport bathrooms. Plus, it shouldn't really matter to you right? The ride is over for now. It's not _your_ problem."

"But it is mine now. Change the kid or get away."

"I think getting away is best." I stormed off, beating through the crowds once I entered the airport. I think Josh was chasing me but I don't care. He could catch me if he can. I rushed through the crowd and eventually found a women's bathroom, which I promptly entered. I changed Link as slow as possible. Nobody could stop me, and there's a 60% chance that Josh is standing outside right now. Honestly, I don't want to talk to either of the douches.

Danny's a drunk, and Josh is a spoiled brat. He can buy many things but he's not going to buy me. He was probably faking it for something bigger on his end. Can't tell the amount of times that's happened to me. Almost got sold into the Watchdogs like what, four times now? It's tough.

It really is.

I finished changing Link and threw the dirty thing away not being able to take on the smell anymore, but stuck around. I played with Link a bit, washed my hands, stuck up Link's small patches of fuzzy head hairs, and checked my supplies for any other objects that could be useful right about now. Like a pepper spray.

That would be 10 out of 10.

I came up unlucky. But I have makeup. Which is useful. For example, the goth look. It helps prevent certain features from being obvious.

Then again, it _was_ just _makeup_. It wasn't really reliable. Either way, I continued on to make my special look, which I was kind of digging. I know It's kind of undercover and all, but I was. You have to love your work, right?

After applying the last bit of mascara, I continued on to pack all of my things. I put Link and his tiny spiky hair back into the meh dai and prepare to leave.

Link seemed happy. If only for now. Active, sure. He practically wanted to hop off my chest. But he was happy. And I was happy. Only a bit. I know what I have to do. It hurts me. It really does. But I have to do it.

For Link.

If only for him.

Josh wasn't outside of the bathroom, but he was a couple of feet away near the food court, obviously being very vigilant, especially towards the bathroom. There was a huge crowd coming my way and I was definitely going to use them as my escape. Once they arrived, I ducked into their group and continued walking normally. The hoodie was only slightly opened, so Link could see outside. I had my arms wrapped around him, my right hand instinctively wrapped around his small head.

I took a small break to look back and saw Josh walking my way. I hurried even more, looking for the exit.

I need so many things. I need my laptop, I need my money, I need my things, I need Link's things. I need my van.

And SHIELD probably picked that up along with me and Link. Dammit.

At least it wasn't all of my bank account in that van. I'd just have to pay a visit the bank and then buy myself a phone to hit up the commons and see if they have any discount vans. Once done with that, I could go back to my original plan.

First, however, I would have to shake this dude. Which, it seems, won't be easy, since he's very persistent. I admire it, I do, but it doesn't mean I like it, especially since he's becoming a serious threat to my identity. Mine and Link's.

"Hey!" Was that- "Hey, wait up!"

Was this dude really resorting to public disturbance to stop me? Was he really about to do this to me?

"Daisy! Hey!" The group around me was anxiously looking around, seemingly trying to find a "Daisy" and I wasn't going to help them.

"Daisy! Hey! Daisy!" I kept ignoring him, picking up my speed. Link was enjoying the little race. Thank God. Josh continued calling after me as I ran out of the airport. We were already outside and he was _still_ chasing me. With one last 'Daisy!' I stopped and whipped around.

"What do you want!?" I yelled back exasperatedly (also a bit out of breath). He continued to catch up before stopping and catching his breath. At least the rain offered a bit of refreshment.

"I'm sorry for my brother. He's kind of a jackass."

"I thought you were just friends?"

"Yeah, we're not. I'm his half-brother, younger by a couple of years. He gets a bit jealous because our dad left him and his mom to go back for me and since I was his youngest of his boys, he spoiled me the most and left leftovers for him. My dad only ever had three kids, Daniel, Me, and my younger sister, his half-sister as well. Basically me and my sister, Cassie, we were my dad's golden kids. And although my dad provides for Danny, he really doesn't give him as much as he has to us."

"Are you trying to sell me a sob story, here? 'Cause I can promise you, if that's what's happening here, I could beat yours by a thousand miles."

"No! No. That's not what I'm trying to say. What I'm saying is, forgive him. He's just rather... His heart has only ever been full of hate. Please, don't just drop us. Or at least, don't drop me." My eyes squinted in distrust. What the Hell was I doing here? How the Hell did I end up in this position. "Daisy?"

"Look," I said, trying to be as organic as I can be. "I just don't want to ruin Link's life, that's all. I'd prefer to be by myself, thank you." He looked worried.

"Are you sure? You have a ride? Money? I can help you get on your feet."

"Why do you assume I need help?"

"You did accept a free ride to LA with my brother."

"He offered nicely. I was coming here anyways, so no worries."

"Ok, but I just wanted to make sure you're-"

" _I_ am fine, trust me. _We're_ fine" I don't want to become liable for borrowing money or something. I'd rather quake an ATM. And that's even more illegal, but at least it wouldn't require anybody else to get involved. Matter of fact, I might just do that.

"Are you sure? Let me just drive you to your next location."

"With your brother? No thanks. Hey, here's a clue. A van would be nice, not a soccer mom van, a spy kids van, that would be cool. With all the gadgets and everything. And as for where I'll be? Here's a hint. Downtown Culver city, In-N-Out." I gave him a small smile, before walking out on the street and hailing a cab.

"Where to?"

"Downtown Culver City"

"Got the money?"

"Get me an ATM" I say smiling. It gave the driver some sort of whiplash. He looked back through the mirror, where I pointed my hand at him threatningly.

"Quake?"

"Drive." The man followed my orders, which I was proud of. I think the new director released my photos or something, because I was kinda beginning to feel famous. Nobody knew who I was before, really. Just some mysterious figure who could somehow cause earthquakes. Now?

Well. The world's my oyster.

Unless, of course, I get caught by a cop or any type of law enforcement.

Either way, it felt really good.

The man dropped me off at a gas station, where I told him to wait. I blew up all electrical circuits through the back, came back up front and quaked the cashier back into the wall. I walked over to the ATM and got ready to be rich. Which I promptly was.

$200,000 richer. I gave the cab driver a couple thousand bucks and told him to keep quiet which he happily complied to. The rest was stuffed everywhere it could fit and everywhere I could hide it. In my undergarments, my boots, my pockets, the book bag. Even inside Link's pouch.

I thought about staying at In-N-Out and waiting for Josh, I did. But dealerships take hours and it was about to be 7 o' clock and I needed to do this, now or never.

So I found myself returning.

To the place I had Link. To where I knew someone was waiting for us. To the place where I knew somebody else who cared about me. Someone who we might be able to have a normal life with. Someone who I know Link would love no matter what. Someone who I'd prefer Link would stay with. I stood in front of the door. By this point, I was soaked. I often had to remove my hair from my face. But I built up my courage and pulled open the door. The familiar little bell rung, sucking me back into an old memory. _I was scared. I was alone. I've had so many broken promises, and then the ones that couldn't possibly be fulfilled. Then, to top it all off, I'm pregnant._

 _So many things._

 _So many things I regret._

 _I'm not even sure I want to keep this baby. Then again, how could I not? Isn't it by the third month that they're officially developed? So much so that you can tell their genders? I looked down at my belly. I don't hate them. I don't. But I don't want to fail them. I probably will. But I don't want to._

 _This had to be Lincoln's too. I hadn't-I didn't do anything with anybody else._

 _How could I kill off the last living part of him?_

 _It's easy._

 _I can't._

 _But I can't take care of a baby either. I can barely help Robin and Polly without stealing stolen funds. While I'm technically not doing anything wrong since they're already stolen, I'm still stealing._

 _I don't know why I'm here._

 _He doesn't remember me. He shouldn't have to remember me. What good would I do if I reminded him of the man he was? Of the life he lead?_

 _Yet, I'm frozen._

 _It's so simple. Just reach out. Grab the handle. Open the door. Enter._

 _Just reach out. Grab the handle. Open the door. Enter._

 _Why can't I do it?_

 _Because I shouldn't._

 _Then why am I here?_

 _Why was I here? Why would he care? He wouldn't._

 _Would he?_

 _All I wanted was a hug. I need a hug._

 _All I want is a hug from him. That's all._

 _Right?_

 _Yes. That's all. I finally mustered the courage and opened the door. The inside was much more peaceful than outside. It almost seemed to calm my mind. There were different sized cages along the wall with seats to parallel them. It was all very *pet* themed. I don't know what practice he had here, but he seemed to even have snake cages and a pet goldfish of his own on the counter. Speaking of, I hesitantly walked up to the counter. Everything was empty. And quiet. Nobody was here. It was open, wasn't it?_

 _There was a small bell on one of the taller shelves of the very centric desk. It seemed very modern. I slowly tapped the tip of the bell and was startled by its loud ring._

 _And there he was._

 _He_ _popped_ _out from one of the rooms and began walking towards me. I froze._

 _My dad. My very messed up but amazing dad. I love him._

 _Yet he had no idea who I was._

 _"Hi?" I couldn't respond. There was a ball in my throat and my eyes were welling up. "Have I seen you before?"_

 _I wanted so desperately to remind him. To tell him the truth. But no. That would be torture. He didn't deserve that._

 _"Did you want something?"_ _The_ _tears were falling now. "I'm sorry, I don't really understand?"_

 _I took a small step_ _forward_ _. My arms wanted to reach for him-I shouldn't stay here. I can't. I need to go._

 _But._

 _I took another step, this one a lot bigger than the first._

 _All of my body wanted to cry out to him. Just yell and scream in agony. I wanted to confess my sins. I wanted to tell the truth. I wanted a hug. I just wanted to be held. To be told everything's going to be ok even though I know it isn't._

 _"Are you ok?" He asked, cautiously approaching me._

 _That's it._

 _I broke down. I began sobbing. I dragged my feet all the way towards him, my arms outstretched. Once I finally reached him, I fell into his embrace. His awkward yet caring embrace._

 _"I'-I-I'm sorry" I choked out, barely able to speak. I looked up at him from my slightly crouched position._

 _"Shhh," he said, wiping away my tears and my hair from my eyes. "It's ok. Talk when you're ready, ok?"_

 _That made me cry even more._

 _I_ _don't_ _deserve him. He should've had a perfect life. He deserved that. He was perfect._

 _He did what I wanted. He held me. As I let out all of the pain, he held me through it. We didn't speak for a good moment. I couldn't. Not_ _until this_ _ball went away._

 _And eventually it did. It took a lot of crying. Crying out loud that I almost never let anyone see._

 _But it felt natural. Almost as right as when Coulson comforted me._

 _"Come," he lead me upstairs where it seemed to be a studio apartment in hiding, and lead me to the couch. "Wait a minute," he said returning downstairs where I heard the door being fumbled with before he came back up and sat on the opposite end of the sofa._

 _"Ok," he said calmly, I guess in an attempt to calm me as well. "Now you can tell me what's wrong"_

 _I shouldn't. I really shouldn't._

 _Daisy, no._

 _Daisy, no._

 _Daisy-_

 _"I'm your daughter"_

 _Dammit. He didn't seem fazed however._

 _"I had a feeling," he said, gesturing for me to get closer. My eyes were welling up again but I crawled over into his hug. Again, he wiped the hair out of my eyes, staring into them this time. "Daisy? Right?"_

 _"Umhm" I said softly, trying to sniffle the tears away._

 _"Well," he said. "Your mother makes very good choices."_

 _I smiled. I think it might've been the best if he knew her like that._

 _"Who is she? You're mom?"_

 _"I don't know," I paused. "I was a baby when I was brought into an orphanage. She died last thing I heard. I never knew much about her"_

 _All truths._

 _"Oh Daisy,"_ _He said hugging me even harder. "I'm sorry"_

 _"It's ok. Really, it is."_

 _We stayed there for a few more moments, wrapped in silence._

 _"Dad?" I asked looking up at him._

 _"Mmhmm?" He asked, running his hands through my hair._

 _"I'm pregnant"_ I self consciously pulled my sleeves down, placed all hair behind my ears, and fixed my hoodie. My hair was soaked. My hoodie is soaked. I need to get Link his vaccines because he might get sick soon and was completely exposed.

And here I was, accepting my defeat.

Once again.

The clinic was actually a bit full this time.

It must be an event.

He has those a lot.

I don't really know what to do. I could just wait out here but then when he sees me he's going to drop everything and probably lose cash. I mean he only has one helper and that helper sometimes has to work for free.

I mean, either way by the end of today, he really shouldn't be having any problems with the owners.

I can't just hide though. I could go upstairs?

But wouldn't that be an invasion of privacy?

Not really. Right?

I _am_ his daughter, and Link was _born_ here. I stayed here for a couple of months. It should be fine, right? I've only been gone for... what, about six months?

Another customer pulled the door open. He had a blue and gold macaw on his shoulders. It seemed to be malnourished and its beak was cracked. It could be for a number of reasons, but the man's arrival pushed me to make a decision. So, I almost instinctively snuck past Janene with a finger up to my lips and went upstairs.

Walking past the final vet room, I heard him speak inside. Something about "Harry" having a mild cold but how it could turn deadly if not treated correctly. I remember helping him out with the animals.

Hell, I think I might be more qualified for this job than vet students themselves.

Hands on is the way I learn best, anyways. I set my bag down and take out all of my money. I put most of it in the coffee table drawers, leaving out a couple of thousands for me. I take Link out of the meh dai and set him on the floor so he could stretch his legs.

I won't lie though, finally unbuckling the contraption felt really good. Like, amazingly good. I don't really know how many hours I've had that on, but I know it was too many.

Way too many.

"And that's it!" I heard him celebrate as the bell rang, I'm assuming for the second to last time. "Here you go, Janene. Have a good weekend, sweetheart."

"Thanks, Mr. Cal" Janene replied and I heard the door's bell ring for the last time. I heard the door lock, and quite a bit of rustling. According to the cable box, it was around 10 PM. I made sure to stay in the living room area, not wanting to intrude in any other rooms. I had changed Link about five times before putting him down to rest, using a tiny blanket I found in the corner to cover him.

He looked like an angel. He had a small habit of putting on hand on his cheek and another on his waist and it was adorable. I was sat up on the sofa, with my leg protecting him in case he got a little too close to the edge.

Out of all the peace I had finally had this afternoon, when I heard his footsteps coming up the stairs, it was like someone released the horses in my heart. I could practically hear my heart beat.

It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. I didn't want to see his reaction, I cowered in shame. He had done nothing but provide me with a good place to stay and be happy and I had abandoned him. It probably took him months to throw away all the baby stuff. To realize that I was never coming back.

And yet here I was.

I wanted to run away when I heard him stop. When I heard him call out to me. I wanted to cry. And I wanted to dig myself in a hole. I wanted to throw myself in the dumpster outside. I desperately wanted to do so many things at once that I wasn't prepared to do anything.

"Daisy?" He asked at first, frozen in place. "I've been waiting for you."

He continued towards me. I turned around, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"You have?"

"Of course," He said, kneeling down to hug me. "I've missed you two so much. You guys are highlight of my life"

Oh. My dad.

He's so sweet. He's too sweet.

"I've been preparing for the day of your return. I'm glad it's finally come. Come see," He stood up, and gently picked Link up. Cradling Link in one arm, he helped me up and led me to his room.

I was holding back my tears.

He separated his room into three corners. The furthest corner from the door was his simple old bed. The corner nearest to the door had a twin sized bed for me. It was complete with it's own set and everything. Even the teddy bear we won on the boardwalk all those months back.

But what made me want to cry most was Link's corner. Just when I thought that he was trying to forget about us.

The corner had one of those trademark cribs, the one you see in those highly expensive stores. It had plenty of teddy bears and toys galore for Link to play with, a bunch of baby essentials and his birth certificate was hanging on the wall. Above it was his name, all printed out and framed and a beautiful mobile hanged from the ceiling, surrounded by another beautiful canopy. It was the miniature nursery of my dreams. And I didn't have a lot of those.

My dad didn't even say anything as he slowly walked over and put Link into his crib. He put a finger in the air as if to say "wait, there's more" and opened the closet.

"I've been saving up for this" he whispered as he brought out boxes for walker, a high chair, a stroller, a potty, and so much more. I couldn't handle it. He's so perfect. He's such a good dad. I love him. I love him so much.

I walked over to him, trying to make the least noise possible and hugged him as hard as I possibly could have hugged him.

"I'm sorry for all the missed years, Daisy. But I made a promise to not miss any more. And I want you to know," he said picking up my face and moving my hair out of the way. "I made that decision because I love you. Even though I wasn't there for your birth, and even though I didn't know about you until a couple of months ago, I love you. And nothing on the face of this earth can change that. You're my daughter, and nothing will change that. No matter how many times you leave, I'll always be here for when you come back. For when you both come back. You are beautiful. And you gave me the best grandson in the world. You're perfect. And so is he. Just remember that."

The speech brought back another memory.

 _I hated leaving. I really did. But I had to keep my promises. I had to protect Robin. I had to take care of Ace._

 _I had to make sure they were ok._

 _At this point, my dad knew I snuck out, and on nights where he saw me getting antsy, he would just make me promise to get home safe. And to come back home._

 _Yeah, I might be a bit too far into this. But I can't do anything about it now, can I? Even if I might not look like it I'm 6 months pregnant. Any type of action is dangerous and I have a constant reminder of that because this baby is a hell of a kicker._

 _The belly was still easy to hide however and traveling cross country is always fun, so there's that._

 _Quaking is a lot harder now though._

 _I don't know if it's the pregnancy, or just plain old me but it's gone back to hurting when I do it._

 _Like_ ** _really_** _bad._

 _My dad doesn't know about it yet, but I'm scared of when he finds out. I don't know what he'll think._

 _More_ _importantly_ _, I don't know what he'd do._

 _Pre-T.A.H.I.T.I., my dad was obsessed with inhumans. He was obsessed with me becoming one. He loved all things inhuman. Post-T.A.H.I.T.I., however, I'm not to sure how he'd react. Especially with all of the bad press about me. Being inhuman was ok, but being_ ** _Quake_** _, I'm sure that's a whole different story._

 _He didn't really pressure me though. Didn't ask me where I was going or what I was doing. I often came back with pictures for him though. Pictures of Ace and I. Pictures of me at pretty landmarks. Or just the landmarks themselves. I would take him, I would. But I can't. For one, I could risk seriously exposing myself. Either an outfit, any type of blood of wound, any type of bruising. Anything or even him following me-which was highly unlikely but still probable, could put me at risk of discovery. I couldn't._

 _Yet her I was. I have started struggling to get out of the window now. Everything's much more taxing yet somehow the bees I once felt when I first got my powers have grown stronger. It's in every movement, every step, every breath. Sometimes it gets to be too much and I pass out. My father usually freaks out but almost always blames it on the pregnancy. In his Post-T.A.H.I.T.I. brain, he had studied Med school for a long time and even graduated before realizing that he liked veterinarian stuff better and got into that. So it was cool that my dad was still a doctor, just a doctor of two kinds. I'm sure pre-T.A.H.I.T.I. dad had the same story just flipped. At least, I think that's what they told me._

 _This time, I had called Yo-yo from a payphone and asked her to deliver me the special medication that S.H.I.E.L.D. has that cause rapid bone healing and relief, because I swear that Tylenol is not working._

 _I hope it's pregnancy-safe however, as that would suck real bad._

 _Hopefully it is. Hopefully it really is._

 _I didn't get to see her, not this time. But she dropped them off at the exact location where I made sure to tell her to._

 _She had left a note along with them._

 ** _I know you don't want to expose yourself, but if you want a boardwalk to go to, take your father to the Santa Monica Pier. I know it's a nice getaway._**

 ** _Trust me ;)_**

 _I smiled and saved the note in my pocket. I opened the package, and there they were. S.H.I.E.L.D. standardized issued rapid bone healing and relief. I read the label completely before taking it off and stuffing it in the bag. I threw it out 3 blocks out from where I picked it up and returned home._

 _"Check with a doctor before taking these pills if you are pregnant, prone to heart problems, suffer from..."_

 _Check with a doctor usually meant check to see if you're stable enough to take these pills. I know for a fact that I'm not stable enough. That was just fact. Another fact, however, was that this pain was killing me. And the baby wasn't too fun either._

 _At least when it kicked somewhere else other than my outer stomach._

 _Many times, I've been close to death, and I swear to you, if the times I've been passing lately aren't even remotely close to death than I will actively cut myself. Hopefully then some tension would be lost in my body._

 _Right?_

 _Maybe I will take my dad out to the pier for a weekend._

 _Just avoid all contact and only come out at night like vampires. Maybe we could even hit it up in the daytime._

 _Maybe._

 _It would be fun. Something to do before the baby gets here. Something to do to get and have some fun. A father-daughter date we never got to have._

 _Yes. I think we will visit the pier. I can't wait to tell him. I'm practically here anyways. It took all of my will power to crawl back in through the window._

 _My dad was sitting on the bed waiting patiently for me. He stood up and helped me through it._

 _"Where have you been? This time was a lot shorter?"_

 _This was new. Janene probably pressured him into saying something._

 _"Oh, nothing. Just had to pick something up."_

 _"Nice. What?"_

 _"Oh, just some pills,"_

 _"Can I see?" I cocked an eyebrow at him. Seriously? "You're pregnant, Daisy. I'm not trying to be nosy, I'm trying to be cautious."_

 _"Sometimes they share the same meaning."_

 _"I just don't want you or the baby getting hurt, Daisy."_

 _"We won't. I read it. It's safe."_

 _"I just want to make sure,"_

 _"No. It's fine."_

 _"Just let me see it." You know that feeling I was describing earlier? Well, I feel it again._

 _"It's fine." Here comes the piercing headache._

 _"Are you sure?" Ooh. Lightheadedness._

 _"Yes." I tried blowing my nose. Wait. I softly touch it. Nose-bleeding? That's a new factor to these episodes._

 _"Daisy?" My eyes seemed to be fading out. Everything was getting really blurry and hazy. "Are you ok?"_

 _I can't smell. I could barely hear as he walked over and grabbed me, trying to stabilize me._

 _The familiar ringing noise seemed to only get louder, yet everything seemed to fall so far away. Soon enough, I fell with it._

 _I awoke on a bed. It took a while to gather the information and correctly process that I was indeed, at my father's place. The memories flooded me like a wave again as it always did. It made my brain hurt but eventually I got to tonight. Or was it yesterday? I slowly glanced over at the covered window and realized it was morning. When I went to rub my eyes and_ _stretch_ _, I realized the bandages. And the change of clothes. I had bandages all along both forearms up past my wrist and wrapped around my thumb. My lower legs were also wrapped, my right all the way down until my heel. They made me feel as if I had knee-high socks._

 _I don't know what was under the bandages, but judging by the extreme discomfort I felt when I moved, they were bruises, if not worse. I looked down at the study corner. Cal was sitting there, with glasses on, his left hand gripped around my pill bottle-which I had thankfully ripped the label off of, and slightly above the bottle was one of the pills-I'm assuming, pinched between his thumb and index finger on his right hand as he closely examined it._

 _"You know, I don't like to pry Daisy. You have me worried though, and I'm afraid I had to do it." I wanted to speak, but my mouth felt too dry to even crack open my lips. "I gave you you're space, but I don't think those little drops of blood you would occasionally leave in the bathroom are from your friendly monthly resident. Especially since you're pregnant. And these episodes are growing exceptionally worse, and worse. Yesterday was the first time you ever started bruising and nose-bleeding"_

 _It wasn't the first time, but I wasn't going to tell him that. It was, however, the first in a while._

 _"I thoroughly cleaned, washed, bandaged, and changed you before placing you on the bed. If it weren't for your slight breath, I would have thought you were dead, and you came really close. When I was first prepared you for the bath and emptied your pockets, I found a note and this bottle. The note doesn't quite bother me as much as the bottle does. You know, I don't know who you got these from, but I hope you got them legally since I couldn't even find them on ._

 _E-189_

 _So interesting. And did you know, that so far, these past six months have been the most "earthquake active" since 1994. Just recently, yesterday, I felt like my world was shaking. I thought you were dying, yet guess what I found out?" He asked,_ _plopping_ _the pill back into the bottle and putting it down before dramatically turning to me and taking off his glasses._

 _"It was. We experienced an earthquake yesterday at around 12 AM clocking in a 7.0 on the Richter scale. Around the same time which you got here. There's also been wide scale earthquakes in places there would never be any. You took a picture with the monument at Rugby, North Dakota and there's an article two days later about North Dakota experiencing it's first earthquake in 40 years. Then you send me a picture of you at the San_ _Francisco_ _Golden Gate Bridge and three days later there's articles about an earthquake taking down a small bridge on the outskirts of San Francisco. There were also rumors about a person causing these tremors. A person they've officially nicknamed Quake. See and I didn't want to believe it at first, because you're my daughter. You've only been anything but perfect since I met you but there are some pretty nasty articles online. Apparently, they've managed to isolate that '_ _Quake'_ _as they've nicknamed them is a girl with short hair, probably of_ _Hispanic_ _origins, which correlates with you about 50% except for the fact that you've told me that all you knew from your mother's side of the family is that they were of Asian-American descent._

 _But the descriptions pretty much match yours, don't they? All the places, you've told me you've visited lately, or shown me have correlated also with earthquakes in the past 3 months of you staying with me. And the note you had on you?" He picks it up and unfolds it. "'_ _I know you don't want to expose yourself,'? This could be about your body, (which by the way, if it is, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Pregnancy is beautiful and you look fascinating), but I have a sinking feeling it's not about that. And i_ _f I'm putting two and two together correctly, I believe that you are Quake. And trust me, Daisy. I don't want to harm you or anything. I just want the truth. You're my_ ** _daughter_** _. I wouldn't kick you out or anything. I just want the truth. I just don't want anything but the truth."_

 _I slowly got up, grunting my way through the pain. "The truth?" He nods._

 _"The truth is I used to work for SHIELD. They're searching for me. And I'm searching for a rogue terrorist group called the Watchdogs. Those kids I often take pictures of? Kids of friends I made along the way, whom I promised to protect and take care of. I'm only doing my fair share of good in the world. Hopefully, by the time my baby gets here, I can be a_ _n adequate mom for them. And they can live in an adequate world. And yes, I do have powers. I'm an inhuman. But please for the love of God, do not call me Quake."_

 _My dad sat there in silence._

 _"Wow. Ok. First, I haven't been here since your birth, but I do know you're amazing. You know, I never imagined I had a daughter, and while the past three months have been rocky, they've been the best of my life. You are the most interesting human being, and I could not be more proud to be_ _your_ _father. You are beyond perfect. And I'm sure you'll be a mother beyond perfection as well. This baby is blessed to have you as it's mother. And while I have only been here for you for three months, I swear to you, Daisy. I swear I will_ _never more_ _be gone from your life. I will always be here for you and my grandchild. And you better remember that."_ So short and simple, yet so sweet. Yes, I did. I did remember it.

"Thank you, dad. I love you"

It is 3 AM. Both my dad and Link are fast asleep. It was an emotional night, but I have to leave.

I don't want to.

Link's health hangs in the balance. If I get swept up by SHIELD, or worse, if SHIELD gets led here?

No.

I couldn't risk that, could I?

It was an easy pick over needs and wants. Basic, selfish wants, or complex, selfless needs. Obviously it was an easy choice, right? But my dad would be so devastated if I don't come back and so would Link.

It's one life over three. They would be better off with me gone, anyways.

So here I was again, sneaking out of the house with little known of the return date, if any. This time, however, instead of kissing one head goodbye, I kissed two.

 **Haven't really proof read because I want to post them as fast as I can, but feel free to point out any mistakes. I was having many problems with this chapter, especially with the flashbacks so I just put down extra stars to make sure you understand where they end and begin in case the italicized font goes away again. I also had the hardest time updating the first part. I almost gave up.**

 **Ok, so we're about to enter this** **fic's** **version of season 4.**

 **Hopefully you guys liked it..**


	6. 6) Covers

A plus side to visiting my dad? I got my suit back. And the gauntlets. Plus all the old medication I left there. Actually, just about anything I hid there. Even the old license plates I used to switch out every now and then. If I played my cards right, which I think I did, maybe, _hopefully_ , the van would still be right where I left it. It should be. Carrying this bag of items is incredibly taxing and I really miss my van. But at least the medication has helped.

As I turn the corner, the question is finally answered.

It was there!

Surprisingly. When I walked over however, everything was raided and some hobo had made it their home.

 _Of course._

"Umm, hi?" The hobo looked up from his lying position in the back.

"The fuck do you want?"

"Woah there, buddy. This is _my_ van. I'm going to need you to leave," I said, setting my bags down in the passenger seat.

"Are you sure, though? Seems like you're just another freeloader, and guess what, _Buddy_ " he said mockingly, "I was here first. So get lost."

I really don't want to quake him. I really don't want to quake him. I really shouldn't quake him.

The repercussions, Daisy. The repercussions.

Remember the breath-in, breath-out technique.

"Actually-" I breathed in heavily, "No. This. Is. My. Van." I huffed out.

"Prove it, buttercup."

I quaked him.

I'm not proud of it, and I definitely probably gave away my location to anyone who's looking, but it felt good seeing the dumbass' face when he flew backwards past the van's closed doors and onto the pavement. I jumped to the back and picked up all of the dude's garbage and threw it on him. He was groaning.

Really loud.

But right as I closed the doors, he managed to yell, "Hey! Fuck you!"

It felt good to slam the doors. I climbed back over to the front and opened the bag. I rummaged through the mess inside and picked up the copy of the van keys (which were _originally_ reserved for my dad), and started up the van. It was super low on gas an had the engine light on, but I trust she can give me another mile until we can hit the gas station.

The dude limped his way out of my own with his stuff practically falling from his arms. I waited until he was completely out of the way before continuing on my merry way.

Time to rebuild.

The first place I went was to the gas station down the street. I pulled down my beanie, and I hopped out. I went inside, keeping my head down. I walked towards the prepaid phone aisle.

 _Smartphone, smartphone, smartphone, smartphone, smartphone._ Ahh, here we go.

Bonus? It had a camera. I quickly grabbed a plan and went to check out. Something caught my eye on the way there, though. There was an array of hula girls.

Hmm.

What a world, am I right? I took one before continuing my way to the register. I placed both the phone and plan down, placing down the hula girl hesitantly. The man looked at me questioningly.

"A 20 on number six please," I say, reaching into my bra to pull out the 200 I had in there. I pull two 20 dollar bills out and put the rest back. He scans the two items places them in a bag and accepts my cash.

"Receipt?"  
"No, thank you" I say, grabbing the bag and rushing out of the place. I throw the phone onto the bag through the open window and turn around to deal with the pump.

After putting in the gas, I hook the pump back into place and close the lid and walk around the van to climb into the front seat, grabbing the phone and plan from the bag. Flipping the card around, I follow the instructions to set the phone up, making sure to program my own phone number under "me" to make sure I don't forget it. I also program an old familiar phone number in and send a text.

 _Hey, Yoyo._

 _In town?_

I place the phone back into my pocket and turn the van back on. As it heats up, I grab the bag again, pick the hula girl up and throw the bag back. I hold it for bit, staring at the head which bobbed at any slight movement. What a reminder. I stick it onto the dash and check the gas.

A little bit more than halfway?

Nice.

Time to visit Nico's.

I hadn't visited this place in over three years, so it almost scared me of how strikingly similar it looked.

"Hey! Nico?!" I exclaimed out to the back. The hammering stopped. The short girl appeared through the door frame, grease and oil everywhere. "I don't think that apron's working."

She smiles at my comment. "What's good, girl? Haven't seen you since the old days." She said, walking up to a hug.

"Yeah," I said, wrapping an arm around her head and rustled her short hair. "I noticed you got a haircut?"

"Yeah. Pixie cuts are in style. And it works for me," she modeled it a bit, making me laugh. "Don't sell yourself so short either, though, miss." She said reaching up and touching my hair. "You got one, too, apparently. I mean, I've always had my hair short, but what made you go from Barbie to hardie?" I chuckled.

"I just liked the look. Plus short hair is in style, as you said."

"True," She said wiping her hand off her apron and fixing her hair. "So, Skye. What you here for? I know it isn't _just for a visit._ You've been gone for a few years. Kinda disappeared."

"Yeah," I said, fixing my own hair, and beanie. "Got my van out front, was wondering if we could fix it up."

" _We_? You wanna help me?"

"Of course. Where's Benny and Hogs? And your twin brothers?"

"Oh Benny's out for now, getting lunch. Hogan went with her. My twin brothers are still at St. Agnes. They still won't give me custody."

"Aren't they like 14 now though?"

"Yeah. They're adorable too. Remind me of you, kind of. They really looked up to you. Every time I visit them, they're all like 'we're gonna be like Skye' up and down all over the place and they tell me stories of things they've done and update me on the current news down there." That kind of reminded me.

"Aww. Speaking of the boys, how's the girl they brought in when I left. I forgot her name. You know the little one that came in when we were both about 13 years old that I took care of until I left, making a promise to her to come back and all? The small one that looked so fragile yet was sooo incredibly smart, with the brown-"

"Oh!" Nico said suddenly. "Lily! I remember. She's one of the kids the twins have taken under their arms in the name of you. She's about four now. Doing amazing in school. Come, let's talk while we work. Benny and Hogan should be coming soon, anyways."

We walked outside and I lead her to my van.

"That's your van?! I've seen that around town so much! What do you want to do?"

"Well, I have to change the liscence plate. I think my oils due for a change as well, I don't know. The engine light's on. I might have to change the spark plugs, too. And I want to do a paint job. Make it a lot darker, probably a very dark blue or just plain black."

"Ok, let me call up the other two and tell them to buy up the stuff, for now just drive into the garage and we'll check out that engine of yours,"

"You've got to be kidding me"

"I'm dead serious."

"How did you get him out?" Nico asked from under the car where she was tinkering. It was a good thing she was 4'5. She was like a little monkey with mechanics. Her job was literally perfect for her.

"I had to fling him out"

"No way," she said pushing the creeper out from under the car and sitting up. "You fought him?"

"Yeah. I think he was doing drugs or something cause it was easy to take him out."

"Eww, that's crazy. Did you find any gross shit in there?"

"No, not so far," I said fidgeting with a small wrench.

"That's pretty cool. Where'd you leave it that it got hijacked into?"

"In an alley behind a hotel. Guess I must've accidentally left one of the back doors open."

"Ugh," Nico said. "Pass me that, right on the side." I held up the tool and she nodded, trading it for the one she was currently holding and pulling herself back underneath the car. "That's what sucks with vans like these. Have to make sure they're stable, ya know? One wrong move and you're done."

"Hey, hey, heeey!" Benny said as she burst through the half door in from the front office.

"Guess who's back!?" Yelled Hogan from behind her. They both dropped their bags and rushed at me, hugged me so hard they almost left me without air.

"Careful," I breathed out. "Guys. I, can't. Breath" They let go of me and I quickly pulled off my jacket and showed them the bandages, indicating I was hurt while I struggled to catch my breath. The pills worked, but only for so long. I probably have to take them again soon.

Bernice and Hogan are brother and sister. Or like it. They grew up in the same abusive household with the same abusive parents. Only, they were kidnapped as tiny children. Nobody knew _who_ their parents were and soon enough they just fell prey to the nuns' evil naming game. We girls made a pact never to say any other girl's name. Hogan liked his though, for some reason. Nico's real name was Nicole, and while that wasn't really bad, it just never suited her. And plus, it was the whole name that made her victim. Nicole Mercay Dee.

No joke.

They named her after the car Nun Maria picked her up in. They changed the twins names too so they could probably be homed faster without people thinking they were splitting up a trio of siblings. They picked such an ugly name for Benny that I don't even dare even think of the rest.

At least Mary Sue is a bit pretty.

I still like Skye better. And Daisy.

Anything is better than 'Mary Sue Poots'. I full on changed my name. Benny just shortened it and got rid of any following. Nico completely destroyed her name, leaving it Nico.

Just plain Nico.

Yeah... we weren't that good at coming up with last names back in the day. But first names is all we needed, so I guess we're good.

I walked past the two and reached in through my window for the bag and unzipped it, pulling out the pills. I opened it and pour about three onto my right palm before downing them and shutting the bottle. I threw it back in and zipped the bag back closed. The three were staring at me.

"How are you guys?"

"How are you?!" Benny immediately responded, excitedly(but carefully) approaching me. "Haven't seen you since St. Agnes! And you look totally different. I'm digging it," I managed a half smile. I'm pretty sure my cheeks were lighting up though.

"Yeah. I've been doing stuff. Did you guys get the stuff?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's all there."

"Anyways. Man, do I have a story to tell you about this morning."

The afternoon was fun. We relaxed and worked on my van all night. We ate the tacos and told stories. It was fun. It was the most fun I've had since my hacker days, actually. And those days were a long time ago. Apparently Nicolas and Nathaniel were getting into plenty of trouble with Lily, and three other little kids named Ian, Lucy, and Daniel. We even video chat with the lot a them a while, I was a bit stressed but it turned out being just fine. Lily didn't remember me but I remembered those beautiful brown eyes and gorgeous, bronze ringlets for hair. She was perfect. Couldn't believe her family would abandon her either. I can't lie, I did search for her parents a bit too, whenever I used to search for mine.

We talked about plenty of other things too, for example, Hogan's inability to grow the manly beard he wanted.

We haven't finished the van but decided we'd all camp out in it. The engine was fixed, all that was missing was the paint job and the liscence plate.

All in all, it was a fun day. Suddenly, I received a text.

 _Is this wild flower?_

I smile.

 _Of course,_

I text back, hoping she takes it playfully.

 _Great. You change more numbers than turtle man. And thats saying something._

I hold in my laughter. That _has_ to be Mack.

 _Turtle man? Try calling him_ _Alfie_ _._

The response came in a lot faster than expected.

 _Alfie? Ha_

 _I'll be sure to use that one._

 _Yeah,_ I respond _, his brother calls him that._

 _Best. Gold. Ever._

 _Haha._ Was her response.

 _Yeah. You visited Juno lately? How's Junior?_

Juno was code for my dad. It was derived from Elena always asking 'you know who' over the phone and her accent making it sound like 'Juno who' so we just made up the name Juno. She's the only one I really talk to about this stuff.

 _Yeah, recently, actually._

 _..._

 _Junior and Juno are together now._

Elena responded quickly.

 _You left them like that?_

 _What happened chica_

 _Are uou ok?_

 _You*_

I twiddled my thumbs a bit before responding. **(One star Daisy, two for Elena)**

 ***** _Yes, it's for the best._  
 ***** _I take it, you're in LA?_

 ****** _Of course._  
 ***** ***** _My next inhuman check up is scheduled in two weeks, you know that right?_

 ***** _No, but thanks for telling me._

 ****** _You need some more medicine, don't you?_

 ***** _Junior's cycles messed me up, you know?_

 ****** _I'm not so sure it's_ _just_ _Junior's cycles_

 ***** _I'm not pushing myself, Elena_

 ****** _Are you sure?_

 ***** _Of course._

 ****** _Contact me later, wild flower. Maybe something will come up. I'm leaving to Miami in a few week, so you'll need a new supplier_

 ***** _Or just a big supply._

 ****** _I'm not so sure about that. Those bottles are hard to hide._

 ***** _But the bottles come empty. Just fill two all the way up._

 ****** _I could get in trouble, that can take longer than expected and I could get caught_

 ***** _You've gotten way too good to get caught now_

 ****** _As long as you'll attend my funeral_

 ***** _Always_

 ****** _Ok, I have to go now, wild flower. Going to get a new phone after this one?_

 ***** _Maybe._

I yawn, and place the phone into my back pocket before cuddling up to Nico and Benny and preparing myself for slumber. Hogs had the reclined passenger seat.

In the morning, Benny was the first to wake up. She woke the rest of us up to some coffee, commenting on how Hogan looked like a teddy bear in his sleep.

"Yeah, well you talk in your sleep."

"Skye drools in her sleep,"

"Oh shut up, Nico. You snore like a pig." We all burst out laughing. It took a while before any of us regained our composure.

"Well," said Benny. "Anyone need a ride anywhere? Wanna buy anything? I'm looking at you, Skye."

"Sure. I had to buy a couple of things anyways so it's perfect timing."

"Perfect. Hogs and Nico finish up the van while me and Skye go shopping!" I manage a smile at her before realizing she's serious. At this point, she's practically pulling me away from the other two leaving me unable to finish my coffee. Well, as long as she doesn't complain afterwards.

I followed her to the car(which was a navy blue pickup which needed a bit more lovin'), where she practically pushed me into the passenger.

"How have you been?" She asked me as she turned the car on.

"Good," I reply shortly, taking my phone from my back pocket and putting it in the front one and adjusting the money I had hidden in my bra so it wouldn't fall.

"How have you guys been? Anything new? Or any reason why you wanted to take me alone?" Benny shot a glance at me before looking away. "Oh come on, Benny. You know I know you better than that. What happened?"

"Nobody likes speaking about it. Are you still with Miles? And in the hacking group?" The question wiped the smile off my face.

"No," I said slowly. "Miles and I-we grew apart. I still have contacts in the hacker group, however. Why?"

"Well, because I figured out that I have a little brother. Actually, many of us at St. Agnes have little siblings we don't know about. Nico's off the radar because she was old enough to know how many siblings she had when she first came through, but many of us weren't. Many of us still aren't. And there's a scandal at St. Agnes. A big one."

"What is it?"

"One of the nuns got pregnant after raping the quiet kid we all knew so well."

"What?!"

"Yes," Benny said, putting the car in reverse to drive out. "George got Nun Anna pregnant. It's despicable. Now Anna was discharged after all the other nuns found out she was pregnant and George doesn't know where his potential child is. Granted, he's only 17 and was raped, but he is just as much of a parent to the kid as Anna is and now he may never be able to see his child again."

"That's terrible"

"And it's not even the worst part because George tried to speak up about it but the nuns kept quiet. He had told the twins in hope of reaching you. He really needs your help, Skye. We all do. St. Agnes has been covering up things like this for years and now that we almost don't have any power in it, the nuns are having power fests. I mean, even George ages out of the system in like two months. We have such little time and we don't even know where to start." I thought for a bit.

"We start," I say, looking back at her even though she can't even look back at me. "By getting the laptop I so desperately need to hack into things. Then," I stop. I didn't have to worry about Link anymore. This would cause more good than harm and it didn't even have to get physical, unlike other missions I've been on. No real consequences. "Then, we blow the top off of St. Agnes and return everyone and everything to their rightful place."

Hopefully.

But where was their rightful place? I couldn't possibly find a place for the +25 kids that lived at St. Agnes?

Could I? And how could I prevent the government from intervening? It was apparent from my case that they had their hands very deep into St. Agnes. Or at least SHIELD had.

What _is_ wrong with St. Agnes? I knew my whole life was a lie but damn. How far did it reach? How deep did it go? How could we not have noticed?

Most of all, how could they keep this secret from us?


	7. 7) Endemic

After buying all that we needed to buy at the mall, we stopped at a nearby café. While waiting for the food, I took out the laptop I had bought and began encrypting all of the data.

The food was done in about fourty minutes but the whole 'converting the software to handle and deal with the encryption of the deep web and the rising tide and other secured encryptions and firewalls', thing was taking a lot longer than that. I had done it only like twice, but it wasn't taking long on my part, it was all the processing.

If it didn't take long, I would worry.

"So, Skye. Do you learn anything about St. Agnes or your parents while you were gone?" I pursed my lips...

Should I tell her?

Why not. She deserves the truth. All kids from St. Agnes do.

"Yeah, actually," I say releasing all pent up breath. "SHIELD used to have its hands very deep into St. Agnes' business. I think it might even be an orphanage run by them. But I'm not so sure about now."

"Didn't SHIELD die like three years ago, though?"

"Yeah but you don't _seriously_ believe they just up and poofed out of here like that, do you? A _government_ agency that had its hands in almost every country wouldn't just _vanish_. I don't know how else St. Agnes could survive"

"Yeah but everybody there is just barely surviving. So how good is SHIELD if they can't keep kids safe?"

"Umm, Benny? There's a whole world out there you know? Everybody right now is _just surviving_ if we're going on your terms."

"Woah. Since when are you so overprotective to the scary men in dark suits?" I stay quiet. " _Wow_ ," she chuckles nervously. "So _that's_ what's been up all these years. Why you suddenly forgot about us-"

"Ok, one, I did _not_ forget about you guys-"

"Totally did-"

" _Did not_. I was just _extremely_ busy with all the hacker business and whatever, got myself into deep waters, and _two,_ I'm not being ' _overprotective'_ , I'm just saying. Maybe the scary men in dark suits aren't so scary. And most probably don't even wear suits."

"Oh my Lord. Skye has officially crossed to the dark side." I rolled my eyes. "You know what? You can finish this here, then meet me in the truck. And here's a couple extra bucks, because I'll probably eat all of the food while I'm at it."

"Ok then." I said softly to myself as I cracked my knuckles. "Now that she's gone," I looked around. Nobody totally suspicious. "Time to get hacking."

It took about an hour, but it was worth it. I found information on a weapon transport on some familiar deep web chat rooms.

There was a lot of chatter but more than a few admins were chatting excitedly about it, and you know when the admins are involved, there is a twenty out of ten chance that this is not good.

I had to go. **Tonight**.

Obviously, it was super awkward in the car. Benny and I had both said a bit too much and now we had absolutely nothing to say to each other.

At least I downloaded a few games, cause otherwise it would be a completely boring ride. Once we got there though, it was a completely different story. Nico and Hogs were both waiting outside for us, Nico looking like the female version of Hugo Cabret if Hugo had olive skin and very, _very_ disheveled hair. Hogan.. well Hogs just looked tired. Tired, but happy.

"We finished it!" They both yelled as we pulled up. I grabbed all my bags and hopped out of the car.

"Here," Nico said, grabbing all of the bags. "Let me take those"

"And close your eyes," Hogs said as he put his arms around me, hands cupping my eyes. "Don't peek."

He guided me along before we stopped and I heard the garage opening. We walked a bit more before he turned me around.

"Keep your eyes closed," he said, as I heard the back doors of my van open, a whole bunch of bags being placed down and then the doors being shut. I heard a bit more of shuffling before I heard, "ok now!"

"Surprise!" They yelled simultaneously, each at one corner.

"I did nothing but I contributed a bit in the beginning" Benny piped up from the back. I laughed at her comment.

"It looks amazing, guys!" I say. "Thank you!" Nico blushed and glanced down.

"It's really no problem."

I took one last good look at the van, my now completely black "oddly surveillance looking" van, before joking, "Who's ready to eat?"

Everyone celebrated and we all made way to our little Camping/Dinner/(now)Breakfast area. More like Brunch since it was already like 2 in the afternoon.

Either way, Benny started up the conversation.

"So I told Skye." The others seemed confused.

"About the George thing"

"Oh! Right. With sister Ana"

"Well she's not so sister anymore, Hogs"

"I know, sorry. Just a habit." Damn. That hit me hard. I forgot how brainwashed kids come out of from places like that.

Good thing I escaped while I had the chance. I can't be bothered to even begin to imagine why all the kids at St. Agnes thought I was a hero.

"And I told her about my potential brother."

"Yeah..." I said slowly. "Do any of you guys have any siblings that you were separated from?"

Hogs shrugged but Nico scoffed.

"What's wrong, Nico?"

"Nothing." She stated bluntly. "I only have _two_ siblings. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Are you sure?"

"My mom got her tubes tied after the twins. I know because my dad openly bragged about not wanting anymore brats around and that he was thankful he wasn't about to have anymore kids. You know. Typical mom's-way-too-in-love-to-see-past-husband's-bullshit/abuse story." That seemed _way_ too deflective of Nico. I mean, I'm not one to judge, but I feel like she's hiding something. We moved on with the conversation.

Eventually, the conversation got dry and Hogs decided to go and buy some beers, dragging Benny along with him, which I was extremely grateful for.

"So," I say, extending the short word way beyond need.

"So." Nico repeats.

"Is it a sister or a brother? Older or younger?"

"I do not know what you are talking about."

"Oh, _come on,_ Nico. I know you know that I know you better than that. You totally deflected when I first asked you. So what is it?"

"Maybe I hate this hypothetical sibling"

"So you knew this hypothetical sibling? Why do you hate them?"

"Let's just say maybe this hypothetical sibling was like our mother but without the servant-to-men-and-men-only-cause-fuck-my-children-even-though-I-gave-birth-to-them attitude"

"So it's a sister? And older than you, I'm guessing since the twins never mentioned her."

"The twins got nothing to mention, that's why."

"She probably abandoned you before the twins were born. Is that it?"

"Shut up, Skye" Nico said, swinging a leg up on her seat and wrapping her arms around it to support herself.

"Hmm.." I say, taking one of the last bites out of my sandwich. "I'll search for where she went when I search for the others."

"Maybe I don't want to know where she went." I smiled. Deep down, we all want to know where the people who abandoned us went. I think Nico was forgetting I knew that.

"Of course you don't." I reach into my boots and pull out the rest of the grand I had hiding in there and give half to Nico, hiding the rest. "I have to go now. Thanks for the job and memories but I really have to go. Here's to a faster return, am I right?"

Nico immediately stood up.

"Noo! Can't you just stay _one_ more day?" I gave her a hug, kind of having to bend down a bit to not make it extremely awkward.

"No, Nico. I need to go now. There's some people that need me,"

"St. Agnes needs you!"

"Yeah, and I'll still chat with you guys and give you updates and search into it. Matter of fact, here's my phone. Put in every number that belongs to anyone you can remember."

I had nothing to fear. The only contact I had in there was labeled with a turtle emoji and conversations were erased almost as frequently as if we were using Snapchat. Me and Yo-yo had it down the bag. It was practically a year of doing this, so I'd hope we'd have it down by now.

Nico gladly took the phone and by the time I received the phone back, I had like 20 contacts. Nico, Benny, Hogs, Nicky, Nathan, Lily Emergency line, Ian Emergency line, Lucy Emergency line, Daniel Emergency line, and George was just a few compared to all the numbers she put in. I think she even put each kid's school in.

"You want to put in the governor's number too? You know, never can be too sure"

"Shut up" She chuckled, softly punching me. "Just don't know when I'll ever see you again."

"Soon," I promised, against my own will, internally cursing myself as soon as the word slipped past my lips.

"Can't wait" she said, standing up. I stood up as well.

"So, where are you planning to go now?" She gestured we walk. So I slowly began walking to the van, her on my trail, my hands in my pocket, the right clenched around my keys.

"I'm probably going to stay at a motel for the night. Get my things settled before going on my mission"

"Changing the world, right?"

"Changing the world," I smiled at the memory of the sentiment.

"One percent at a time" we recited together. Nico looked visibly upset so I offered her a hug. She took it, allowing me to wrap my arms around her short frame.

"I promise, Nico." Her big brown eyes looked up at me, giving me a doe-eyed look.

"Please. Just stay out of trouble, Skye." She got on her tiptoes, wrapped an arm around my neck, and whispered the next part into my ear.

"I know you're Quake. I don't know what happened inbetween or even what the others will do, but stay safe."

She gave me one last pleading look, tears threatening to overflow from her eyes before she turned away from me, wiping her hands on her apron before cleaning her face and walking back towards the office.

"Pin's 88708" She called out behind her. She gave me one last glance before slipping into her office. "Stay safe"

I wanted to say something but my words fell short.

I can't promise anything. I can't even say anything because I'd be lying or sure to break it soon.

Instead, I entered the pin, hopped into my van, turned it on and pulled the gearshift into reverse.

New van new me?

Who am I kidding? I'm always going to be terrible at making choices.

The shower felt nice and rejuvenating.

The motel I'm staying at was nice and under the grid, doesn't have many cameras, so I'm pretty sure more than a few crimes have happened here. Everything was quiet, though. And while quiet can become suspicious, anything becomes suspicious if you think about it for too long.

Hopefully, Micro's online. Maybe he can tell me something about the Aryan brotherhood working with the Chinatown Crew.

Then again, he's just a crime scene junkie. He only knows about the crimes after crimes happen.

He could know something, but I should definitely contact some others to be sure... Even just making a post in the higher ups circle could help, but it could also take a long time, and I really have this hunch that whatever happens, happens tonight.

I walk over to the desk the motel so kindly provided, and open up my laptop.

It's my lucky day.

I quickly message Micro, and various other members I used to know from thr R.T.

Throwing my towel back into the bed, I take one of the complementary mints and pop it into my mouth before crawling onto the bed to get my clothes (the bed was huge, don't judge), and slide them towards the edge. I was surprised when I heard the message notification. I turned around and there it was.

A message from Micro.

 _Well, I'm not just a crime scene junkie, SKYE. Of course I have my hands in the deeper ends of the deep web._

 _There's been chatter that the Chinatown Crew have been planning a heist. They seemed to have hired the Aryan brotherhood to do the actual heist themselves and it seems they've agreed a big rig is the way to go._

I frowned.

 _Give me something good, MICRO._ I typed out before minimizing all tabs and going over to my under clothes and grabbing my underwear and pulling it on. The notifications went off again. I popped another mint in my mouth before slightly bending down to read the new message.

 _Oh come on, SKYE. Two words._

 _Weapon sales._

 _Of course! Thanks sooooo much MICRO. Don't know what I'd do without you._

 _Of course,_ I received the message almost immediately. _I'll open the doors for any servers you want to track on my part. I know you've got it but anyone could always use a bit of extra help._

 _You're the best_. I text before minimizing the tab and opening up all of my old servers. As they loaded, I quickly turned around and seamlessly pulled the tank top on. Wrapping on some new bandages, I heard a new notification go off.

Hmmm. Interesting.

They were close. The Chinatown Crew apparently didn't trust their partners enough, as they had a live GPS tracker, probably on until the Crew assured themselves it was the right package.

Either way, it gave me some leeway.

Speaking of leeway, it seems they were speeding.

Really bad. Their tracker was lagging, appearing at about a mile and a half in front of their position every minute. Good thing? They were heading my way. Bad? I'm not prepared.

I rushed to get into my suit, gently placing the gauntlets over my bandages and buckling my belt. I checked the status of the Aryan brotherhood as I put my socks and boots on.

They were getting close. Almost reaching the neighborhood. I closed my laptop and placed it under my sea of things on the bed, reaching for the last of my pills at the same time.

I only have three left. I dumped two back in the bottle and took the one before dropping my things into my pile of stuff. I grabbed my 'Do Not Disturb' sign and placed it on my door as I left. I went towards the main road to wait.

It was easy to spot them.

No one else is casually speeding this late at night with a few people in the back with weapons almost as big as they are.

I tried my best to quake them before they could get too far, and to my surprise, it worked. They were swerving like crazy. It took another quake, however to actually pop a tire. And another to finally just bust the engine all together.

Thank God they turned right into my alley, too.

It pained me knowing that I wouldn't have any wifi in the hotel later which would promptly force me to move and find another one or just sleep in the van, but I knocked the power out by hitting one of the transformers down the street.

Surprisingly enough, apparently, it wasn't many of the street's power source because only a few light bulbs here and there blew out.

Or maybe I wasn't strong enough.

Either way, the poor saps looked confused enough as it was without me jumping down from the building I had so conveniently gotten on top of and beating the crap out of him.

So much for rehab and staying safe.

But he didn't even fight me.

"Help."

What? He fell on his knees, looking down at his chest.

"He-he got me." He said, his life draining from his face. "He'll kill us all"

He became extremely heavy. Too much for me to hold. I released him, and he fell cold to the floor.

Did I kill him? His blood was on my hands. All over them.

But... his death's not on me, right?

I didn't mean to kill him. I just wanted him to talk.

I just- a lady appeared in my peripheral vision. One of the men in the truck exclaiming "Give me that damn thing" and aiming for her.

"Get back!" I yelled running to shield her from the men.

The loud revving engine saved us from the attack, but it brought a whole new set of problems.

For one, this dude really sent a bazooka towards the car, and to be totally honest.

There's no way I'm going to get SHIELD off my ass if this kind of stuff keeps happening.

How dumb do you have to be?

Needless to say, I think the car went flying.

It's the understatement of the century to say that I was _surprised_ to see it come back down, on fire but in a good way, perfect condition, and it landed on its feet, charging even faster than before at the truck.

The collision of the two cars made me cringe in second-hand pain.

A barrier of flames then sprouted around the vehicles, not only making it very difficult to see but also very difficult to stand there, based on the heat alone. I mean, I didn't move, trying to see what what happening, because I sincerely was confused and I'll be damned if I miss the opportunity to find out what's happening here, but long story short, I shouldn't have taken a shower before coming here.

Having blood on your hands is one thing (which was quickly drying up in this heat), but then mixing heat and spandex with a bit of a lot more layers does not mix.

It does not mix at all.

Even through the flames, however, I did see a bit more than I bargained for. And heard.

Let's just say even if you hear it for a hundred days straight, you will never get used to the sound of screams and skin and guts and blood being torn apart.

My list of people to talk to was getting shorter, but I don't think this... beast cared.

One of the men tried running but was instantly knocked out and dragged back into the car's trunk.

The black charger was quickly driven off, the police coming shortly afterwards.

Great.

Four men. Two dead. One hiding. And the other kidnapped.

This is great. This is my life. For some reason, this is my life. I began the now usual routine and quickly blasted off to begin my favorite new hobby of roof top running.

So... just to recap.

I've got one boy on the run which I could really afford to talk to. We have a dude with a flaming skull head which kills people with absolutely no mercy.

And I'm trying to stop whatever it is that's happening here while trying to stay alive because I have a list of people who would be tad bit disappointed in me if I died.

#1 being my son.

My body absolutely hates my powers, preferring to break itself into pieces rather than letting them take any natural course.

Then again, they aren't natural.

At all.

The whole world likes to count on me. I don't know why since I'm just one person?

Seriously, can someone explain that to me.

I've currently got to be careful because there are helicopters nearby and if they catch one glimpse of me then I am dead.

And for the biggest tie-breaker? They're probably going to blame that whole big fire-y, bloody mess on me because I'm the easiest target and them adding that to my current record would officially add me to the shoot to kill list, which isn't very friendly.

So guess who's winning at life?

This girl who's currently trying to find my way off this roof without getting caught.

Either way, I have _got_ to take another shower before I even think about heading out again tomorrow.

When I opened up my laptop, let's just say I had more than a few notifications and tabs opening.

Micro himself had sent a whole bunch of messages.

 _What did you need this info for this time?_

 _Hey, SKYE, did you see the latest update on the Aryan brotherhood?_

 _Two are dead and one is missing, presumed dead. One is in the hospital under the protective custody of local police._

 _Woah did you check the latest investigation?_

 _Supposedly it has something to do with the girl in the news. Crazy huh?_

It just went on from there.

But the third man was talking, so tomorrow I'll have to go and see what he has to say.

But now, I have to focus on cleaning up. And resting.

And possibly setting up some servers to research into St. Agnes.

Before I could even touch my towel, however. I got a new notification. This one a text message. I sat down on the bed and picked up my phone. It was Yo-yo.

 _**What did you do?_

 _*Nothing. I haven't done anything yet._

 _**Oh yeah? Well, I am pretty sure the man on the news says otherwise. And if this was a play for getting the medicine earlier, it worked. Because they are coming in a day or two. Thanks for that_

 _*You're welcome_

 _**Wild flower, Did you..._  
 _**Did you kill those men_  
 _**?_

 _*Of course not. I'll tell you the full story in person, usual route, this time bus that goes to Orangeline 63B._  
 _*Get on five stops before the stop near the Burgers place. Search online if you're lost. Make sure to cover your tracks however._

 _**Yes, I know. Why do you even worry if you are the one who taught me?_

 _*Can't ever be too sure. Plus you're not too into technology and you tend to forget sometimes. It's just a reminder._  
 _*I know you know how to deal with these things_

 _**Ok_  
 _**I'll tell you of any updtes I get_  
 _*_ * _Updates_

 _*Remember that it's the usual afternoon route._  
 _*Don't advise me once your on the bus. You know these lines may be encrypted but they could easily be hacked. I'll get on everyday for the next week until I see you. You know the different codes and routes for each day. If I don't, it probably means that I am in trouble._  
 _*I will text you if it does come to that._

 _**Ok_  
 _**Stay safe_  
 _**see you then_

 _*same for you_

I dropped the phone back on the bed and snatched up my towel once again.

Time to hit the showers.

You know, hospitalized prisoners aren't kept as secure as one would think.

I believe it's because this dude was in the ICU, but I don't know... someone like me or worse could easily come in and have their way.

I mean there was maximum four guards. One at the door, one at the corner, and two patrolling the floor.

Once I got past the first guard, it was easy to get in.

"How are we feeling today?" I asked as soon as I entered. One of the hallway patrols tried getting in but I quaked it shut and held it there. The man seemed nervous, his lower jaw kind of quivering, which meant I could get what I want.

Maybe.

"I've been tracking weapon sales, and I know you were hired to steal one. You even jacked a big rig to help carry it out."

"We were just paid for a smash-and-grab job." He answered immediately.

"Who was that hunting you?" The man grunts, probably in pain and hallway patrol was angry, screaming "Open the door!"

"He nailed me, but we almost got away."

"Who was it?" I insisted.

"Did he kill my friends?"

"All but one. But you're gonna have to give me a little bit more if I'm gonna find him alive."

"Save him, please, before he gets burned, too."

"You'll see your buddy again once you heal up. Just tell me what's-" He interrupts me, sitting up.

"No. No. It's too late for me. They say when the Rider burns you" His bleeding on the bandages seemed to get larger. "He burns your soul." With heavy breathing and plenty grunts, the man stood up.  
"And a soul can never heal."

And there he fell dead.

Right at my feet.

God, this isn't good. I think I may have stumbled upon a cult leading serial killer.

Quaking the wall apart in front of me, I quickly hop out, pushing myself from the building with another wave of quakes onto another rooftop, rolling into a sitting position.

Looking back at the guards in the building, one was at the edge of the hole, nervously pulling his gun out while his buddy was checking the man and possibly calling the nurses, I got up and quickly dashed to the end of that rooftop to hop over the edge and into an alley, which I promptly started taking off my suit, leaving the shorts and undershirt with my suit in my hands.

Hopefully I can find my van before they find me.

Once I did, I found my way back to the hotel where I quickly took off the bothersome bandages. Sitting at the desk where I had my laptop, I minimized Micro and I's chat, along with a few other ones before continuing to the search bar. I entered in " _unexplained death, burns, suspicious death, east los angeles_ " before hitting enter. Hundreds of results popped up, the most interesting to me was about a teacher who was killed.

Thomas Wright.

It was a name I had heard before, one I pinned on the watchdogs and their friends.

I think this may run a lot deeper than them, if they aren't controlling this serial killer. Which I doubt because I thought Thomas was a watchdog who had gone rogue, and while that still may be the case, it could just be that my poor friend had an unfortunate run in with the pyromaniac serial killer.

I reapplied the bandages, this time getting dressed in my kind of undercover outfit, fit with my favorite beanie. I pack up my things, leaving a stack of money for the poor maid who cleans here. She'll need a lot of Clorox and frankly, with the amount of times I've visited this under the grid motel after leaving my dad's nest, I know her on a first name basis. Grabbing my phone, I quickly update Elena on my new plan.

 _**Hey, no need to respond. Just settled on the day and stuff. Whenever you're good, I have an update on my position with the meeting_  
 _*Orange 63B 9am_  
 _*I had to change the afternoon time because I ran out. So tomorrow would be favorable._

After updating her, I closed the phone, grabbed my bag, and headed out.

 **I've already started chapter 8. Trying to go for a weekly upload but again, don't quote me on that. Might update sooner than I think, actually since Chapter 8 is coming very easily for me to write. Comment if you'd like that. Thanks for the support and hope you guys enjoyed.**

 **Ps. Also sorry for any errors. I keep having a lot of** **technical** **failures, so that would be any reason why something seems a bit off or some word is spelt wrong. Feel free to correct me if you see anything.**


	8. 8) Epidemic

_**You're in luck. Just got visit from SHIELD_  
 _**_ _Turtleman_ _is still slow, literally and figuratively_  
 _**I can tell he likes me but won't do anything_  
 _**Men._  
 _**I got your meds and will carry them out shortly._  
 _**Hopefully, I see you soon._

I smiled at Yoyo's remarks about Mack.

The poor man didn't know what he was getting into.

Quickly placing my phone into my back pocket, I turned off the van, hopped out and locked all the doors. It was about a six block walk, but it worked everytime so I can't complain.

I waited patiently for the bus, making sure to keep my head down on all occasions.

The bus came swiftly after I arrived, and I got on slowly, giving the bus driver the quick cash I needed to pay him and sat in front of Yo-yo.

"They're still in town. I suppose you guessed that, texting me. Looking for some truck." I sighed.

Can't chase that angle.

"That mean you have something for me?" I ask covertly.  
"They watch my every move, but certain moves they can't see. You can't get these over the counter. S.H.I.E.L.D. issue for rapid bone healing, yes?" I look at the paper around the pills.  
"Yup."  
"I know you splintered your bones when you first powered up. Are you pushing yourself too hard? I know with Link and all"  
"Don't worry about me." I say, kind of interrupting her.  
"You can't use your powers too much. Your body will break down."  
"I'm fine." I snap. It takes a moment, but she takes advantage of the time.

"I'm surprised you're still in town. You're usually moving and moving. And without Link? That's new. Are you, uh, still hunting those perros rabiosos?"  
"It's not just the Watchdogs now. Local gangs have been working for them, which I don't understand. I was tracing the sale of a weapon, and I I think I may have stumbled upon a serial killer."  
"Ooh. Fun. He live around here?"  
"He mostly hits this area, but he's hard to track down, leaves no traces behind, operates alone."

"Sound familiar? I thought maybe you were, uh, growing roots, they say. L.A. used to be where you hang out, no?"  
"No roots."  
"Everyone gets attached to something eventually. I mean with you. How can you even say that?"  
"Don't forget to wait two stops after I get off."  
"Yeah, yeah. Hey. Send me a picture of this guy. Maybe I can cover some ground if I know what he looks like."  
"No, I still haven't gotten a good look at him yet, so just take care of yourself, okay? But thank you for the S.H.I.E.L.D. intel."  
"Ok. Well, just know they won't give up on you, especially Coulson. All he wants is to find you."

"Well, that's too bad, 'cause there's only one thing I want."  
"Oh, yeah? What's that?"

"Nothing to lose."

"Ai mami," I hear as I walk out, grabbing my book bag and swinging it on. "You're in for a surprise"

I roll my eyes, quickly peeling off the medicine wrapping and throwing it in the trash can thats nearest to where the bus stopped. I put it back in the book bag and continue to walk towards the alley I left my van in when I come across this kid spray painting cross bones from a stencil.

"What you got there?" I ask, setting the paper in my hands aside.

"Didn't hear? Word is, he hit again last night. Two dead in the street."

"Who?" He gave me an estranged look.

"Ghost Rider. You must not be from around here." Well. Pyromaniac has a name, no matter how ominous. I decide to shake down this tree for all its worth.

"Do you know where I can find him?"

"Nobody does. Everybody that sees his face, ends up on this wall"

Great. Now I have to chase down a fairytale town legend that absolutely zero people have seen the face of.

The red car on the mural gives me an idea, however.

"Well..." I say trying to end the conversation even though I think this kid is already ignoring me. "Everyone gets attached to something."

A nearby gift shop seemed to have the right idea because I saw a picture frame with a picture of a '69 charger. Black and everything.

Perfect.

And technically it wasn't considered stealing if you took a picture from a picture frame that belongs in the garbage, right?

Either way, I took it.

I walked into the car show down the street, finding a man on the outskirts of it, working on a teal lowrider.

"Hey, um. Hi. Excuse me?" I asked him. He turned around and stared at me. "Do you know know anyone with this car or anyone who has these car parts? I've heard they're very hard to find" I say, handing him the paper.

"Yeah, those chargers are hard to find. Between 'Fast and Furious' and 'Dukes of Hazzard,' they wrecked a lot of them."  
"My boyfriend wrecked his in a street race." I say, sighing. "He's pretty broken up about it. I guess he was more attached to it than I thought."  
"I ain't seen none around here, though. Sorry." He says folding the paper back up.  
"All right. Thanks, man." I say, grabbing it, about to head over to a new person.  
"Hey, uh, most of them wrecked movie cars, they're dumped at El Monte Junk and Salvage. If your boyfriend wants to fix his ride up, might want to go over there and find scraps."  
Hey! This man is good after all.  
"Thanks. Maybe he'll go there."

I'm definitively going there.

I settled for my van now. Later I'm going to go steal some wifi in order to figure out where this place is. Then, I'm going to hopefully head over and get there on time. But for now? I have a ton of sources in this car show. Time to get some more info.

I arrived really late. I was hoping they weren't closed, and while the main office seemed to be, there was a side entrance which was completely and wide open. I again parked a few blocks down and rushed out of my van, speedwalking to the junkyard. Once I enter, I find nobody except once I hear and see a man kind of closing shop.

"Excuse me."

"Uh, the yard's closing. To sell a junker, you can call the number on the gate."The man turned, a bit angered but he seemed to know how to calm himself.  
"Oh, no, I'm not here for that. I, uh Uh, sorry. What's your name?"

Have to know your source.

"Robbie."

Well, he didn't hesitate. I'd be surprised if it was his real name, but then again, why would he have reason to lie?

"Well, Robbie, I am looking for a guy with a sweet black '69 Charger. Maybe he bought some parts here?"

"Sorry. Doesn't ring a bell. I only work nights once a week." He looked down at his feet as he said the last part. I feel like he's lying.

"Uh, well, maybe I'll come back in the morning. Thank you." If I come back in the morning and he's here, I'll know for sure he's lying. I began leaving when he called out behind me.

"Or-" he said giving me chance to turn back around. "There's a book of sales you can flip through in the main office. Not really an office. More of a trailer, but I can show you." His body language seemed off. I tried not to question it, but it was hard not to notice.

"That would be great, thank you." I begin following him back.

"That's it there." He said after a few short minutes of walking. After saying that, he fell back, however. "So, you live around here?" He asked.

Odd.

"No, I used to," I answer truthfully. "I'm just in town for a couple days, soaking up the sun."

"Strange place to spend your vacation," and I heard it. The rattling noise from that night. "Not a great neighborhood."

Is that a threat? I slowly turned around, quickly assessing this "Robbie". He held keys in his hands and had an aggressive look on his face, but before he could even touch me, I quaked him all the way back into a van that was graffitied beyond saving. He reached for his side, grabbing a pole and bringing it up to his face in a batting position.

"So," the pole lit aflame. "You've got the devil inside you, too."

He started an attack, so I came at him with just as much force. I ended up deflecting his attack, forcing him to turn around, and I roundhouse kicked the pole out of his hands. He was angry and he let it show.

After a few combos he managed to pull, I grabbed him by his arm and pulled him over me, flipping him to the floor. He stumbled a bit but got up full force.

Before he could pull anymore moves, I rushed up and pushed him against the trailer, holding him up by his neck.

"You shouldn't have gotten involved." He says through his grit teeth.

"Yeah? Well, serial killers always complain when we try to intervene."

"I only kill asesinos who deserve it," he says kind of struggling but really not. Probably to get some strength back. Either way, I was happy we were paused for a bit, because I did not prepare for this situation, and my skin and bones will be severely bruised and mistreated after this encounter. "It's vengeance, chica."

"Oh, for what? You killed a _detective._ "

"But he had blood on his hands." I struck him right in his stupid grin.

"A _teacher._ "

"A pedophile." He knocked his forehead into my face. With my new brandished migraine, I kicked him and quaked him far away from me before he could get another hit in.

Oh God. I need to recover. Some Tylonel could definitely help right about now.

"You don't get to decide who deserves to die" I say as he stands up in the wreckage caused by his own self flying past there. What's with bad guys and choosing who gets to die or not anyways?

"I'm not the one who decides." His eyes turn to flame before his whole head does, leaving his skull set aflames and nothing else. I stared in awe as he stood up with new power, grabbing the pole he first had once again. I quaked it away, but it wasn't long before I felt a fist colliding with my rib cage.

I immediately fell in pain, only to roll around and see the skull dude going for a shelf and throwing it down on me. I try my best to keep it up with my powers, but I felt like the experience in the field with my deranged pre-T.A.H.I.T.I. dad, and the experience with the portal with Fitz in that castle, and with my mom, and with Fury.

I felt my life draining. My whole being fighting amongst itself, certain bones cracking. Soon, they'll be fracturing. The flames didn't help.

It was a miserable combination and I was in pain everywhere, barely able to open my eyes to look at the thing.

"Do it." Put me out of my misery. This world would be better without me. Link would be better if both his parents died heroes instead of one terrible one who's still alive and one who honorably died. "I deserve it."

"Do it."

The thing got up and the heat lessened. I wanted to scream.

Why?!

Why do they always leave me alive?!

I just want to die already. All of this suffering. I just want it to end. I wanted to scream. To make him come back. To make him finish the job. I rolled out of the shelf's way as it tumbled down and sit up. I want to stare as he goes off. I want to scream for it to come back. I want to take a picture for Yoyo. I want to do so many things, but I couldn't. And it was all because of the one constant reminder.

The blistering pain inside me. The bees were going full force, as I had once described them, and they were driving me mad. I couldn't think of anything else. Nothing could cross my brain. No one could cross my brain. So I just sat there, cradling my arms and curled up, watching the "Ghost Rider" leave in silence, amongst the flicker of the flames which seemed to like to whip near him.

It was hard to get up, but I managed it. I stumbled through the yard, my eyes droopy, my body wanting to give in to the pain. I continued for the next five blocks until I reached my van, where I tumbled into the back and grabbed my bag. I'm pretty sure I took triple the amount of the usual dosage before I ended up passing out right there and then. Right on the floor of the van, surrounded by all the bags and dropping the capped bottle onto the floor.

When I woke up...

Well, I panicked when I woke up. It quickly faded away, however, as all the memories of the night before came rushing in.

My arms felt ok. My body felt numb, which is good. This is the part of the medicine which I do like.

Time to get out of here. I pull myself up from the seat and climb over to the driver's seat. I make the mistake of stretching my arms as I yawn which ends in some less than favorable screeches from me. I reach over and unlock the glove compartment, taking out some bandages and wrapping them all around my wrists. Once done, I toss it back in there, turn the van on and set in in reverse.

First item on the agenda? Picture of Ghost Rider.  
Second? Stalk- I mean stake out the man behind the skull. Or the man on the skull? The meat of the skull? Eww. Forget it.

The picture is easy. The mural was sketchy but after experiencing it in real life, I can tell that it is actually pretty spot on for a dude that's never seen this urban legend. I send a pic to Yoyo and once that mission is completed, I settle on staking out my serial killer to learn more about his antics.

But I learned nothing about his serial killer nights. All I saw was him waiting for some boy which he helped out of the car into a wheelchair. Their laugh and banter as they met lead me to believe they were close friends if not relatives. I put my spy glass down, fixing my sleeve. I look back at Link's carseat which I haven't worked up the courage to throw away and bite my lip.

"Everyone's attached to something" I guess.

I put my car in drive and drove away to a local internet cafe where I made sure to steal the wifi to learn all about this mysterious Robbie "Ghost Rider".

Apparently, his name's Robbie Reyes and he went to Garfield High School.

Facebook's a tool to be used under the best of circumstances.

And guess who was lying about working nights once a week? It was Robbie!

Following him again, this time in his charger, I found him returning to the place. I waited until he settled down and began talking to customers before I sneaked in myself, striking up a conversation with who seemed the owner of this place, Canelo. He seemed like a fun guy, loved telling jokes and sharing some wacky stories.

Recently, he was sharing a story about the one time he found the strangest things in one car he was fixing up.

"And they had the funnel _inside_ the hood. Not like normal people who store them away safely, no. They had is inside. One thing is leaving a rag in the hood but _storing a funnel_? That's crazy. And the Junkers? Don't even get me started on those. I've found everything from headphones to open condoms in those cars. Almost thinking of buying myself a hazmat suit just to interact with them."

"Oh my God. I never even thought of that. You must find so much weird stuff in people's cars. Now _I'm_ racking _my_ brain, wondering what I've left in mine."

An easier question would be what have I not left in my car. My car is a black hole waiting to happen.

He finally entered.

"Oh, hey Robbie. So this girl is telling me-"

"Robbie Reyes," I interrupt. I see his form tense up and slowly turn around. "Wow. You look so different from the last time I laid eyes on you."

"Long time no see." I can tell he was angry. Boy, did this man have a temper problem. No more than me, I'll admit, but boy does he have to work on his. I wonder if his powers are like hulk's. Maybe if I piss him off enough he'll set this whole place ablaze.

"Yeah. It's been a minute."

"I was just telling Canelo here," I lightly pat the man on the back. "How tight we used to be back at Garfield High. The stories I could tell..."

Oh how I'm loving this moment. Taunting him was so fun.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, trying to fake a smile. The act was fake and the tension in the room was oh so obvious, but it was fun. Like a little game.

And he can't do anything.

"Oh, I'm having trouble with my van. Yesterday, out of nowhere, it just burst into flames. And I hear you're sort of an expert at that kind of thing so I figured it was time to reconnect."

Your move.

He only stared at me and Canelo who had turned back around as if he wanted to join the conversation.

"Ok. Bring it in. I'll check it out, see if we have any problems that might affect any future performance."

"Ok" I say putting down my coffee on the counter and grabbing my keys. "I'll do that."

I drove my van in and Robbie took a three second look at it before coming to a final conclusion.

"I don't know. It looks fine to me."

"The engine caught fire. How is that not a dangerous problem?"

"Maybe you should leave it alone. So you don't get hurt. Or smoked."

 _Oh_? So we're taunting each other now? I'm afraid that's not how it works.

"You claim your victims earned that. Hard to verify all of them."

"Somehow, you tracked me down."

"Just to talk. I figured you're either on the right side of things or-"

"Or what? Or else? You're out of your mind coming here." Look who's talking. "You may know who I am, but you don't know me" Was he joking? "Or what I'm capable of"

Ok. I'm tired.

"It's funny you should mention that," I say aloud, a reminder to him that we're not alone. "I was just thinking of how many memories I have of you, Reyes."

Exactly one. But I couldn't count both of my hands with how much crimes he's committed that I could link him too. He would quickly lose whatever he calls "life" before he could take mine.

"Not this 'too cool for school' version you've got going on now, but... the _real_ you."

Get the bait, fishy fishy.

"He wasn't always the, uh, strong, silent type?" Hmm.. Unexpected turn but I'm loving it. Well, kind of expected, to be honest.

"Well, I've known him since Crandall Elementary. He was always quiet, like he was hiding something." I chuckled. "The two of us used to hit up the Moonraker Arcade down in little Tokyo. Isn't that right, Robbie?"

I loved his stare. Ha. I was winning.

He can't even do anything. Looks like the big man doesn't know what I'm capable of.

"Yes, it is. So, I've seen a side of him that most people haven't.. We used to hang there everyday till your uncle would pick you up. How's he doing these days?"

"You get lost... Or I'll get angry."

So it was like the hulk?

"So angry, I may not remember what I do to you. Sometimes I prefer it that way."

"In front of them?" If I played my cards right. Robbie is a family man. He will do no harm to or in front of his family or people he considers like family. He won't do anything. And I'm right. He backs off, and speaks aloud.

"It's just a hose loose. You're all good." He turns the van on. I look around before swiftly quaking my van around the floor area. It promptly shuts off and starts to let out steam.

"Oh, no. Look at that. Looks like we'll be here for a little bit longer." The glare he gave me made me want to jump for joy. I got him good.

Checkmate, Robbie.

He turned the car off and left through the driver's seat. Walking around to the hood. After concluding that nothing was wrong in there, he slams it shut.

"What do you want?" He asked as he goes towards the tools.

"I looked into your kills. Some of them check out."

"I told you, it's"  
"vengeance"  
"Vengeance. Right. Well, 'vengeance' seems to put _you_ on the same track as _me_. So, tell me what you know."

"Look, detective...They got what they deserved. End of story."

"I'll tell you what _I_ know. There's a group called the Watchdogs. They're hunting people like us."

"Us?"

"Inhumans."

"That's not what I am."

"Look, I- I know what you're going through. I've been there, and I know that it's hard to understand but"  
"Killing people is not-"  
"You're here to counsel me? You want to save my soul? I'm telling you girl, I sold mine."

"To the devil?" Pure disbelief was the only thing that tainted my words.

"He was the only one buying, you know?" This guy is joking, right? There's cameras somewhere.

Haha. My life's a joke.

"Look, I'm done talking."

Wait, was he serious? This dude is...

"You want to throw down again, we could do that. I like my chances. You want to turn me in? Try it. I've got nothing to lose."

"You may not, but Gabe might be a little sad to lose his big brother. You're all he's got."

"Robbie!" Canelo exclaims from a distance. "Listen, I got to take the truck. Drop off a GTO in Palm Desert."

"Take all the time you need. I'll lock up."

"Andale. Mañana."

"Now, you." Robbie says as Canelo closes the door. He has a huge wrench in his hands which lights aflame as soon as his eyes do. "You shouldn't have mentioned my brother."

Oh please. Not now. I just got my van done.

"Doesn't have to go this way" I say, backing up, making sure to go as far away as possible from my van.

"You're wrong." I quake the blue car out of its hinges which hold it up. It hurts to do it, but it's one more thing blocking my van from taking any damage and I'll take it. Robbie pulls off the exhaust and lights it on fire. I quake a small table at him but he manages to dodge it. He comes at me, swinging with no mercy. I manage to dodge the first one, but the second immediately collides with me, bringing me to the floor in pain. I'm thankful he drops the object, as I can barely hold myself up but just when I look up at him, thinking he has got a heart after all. That maybe it was just that I kinda pushed too far and I got what I deserved and now he's going to force me to leave. Just when I think the man has the tiniest ounce of mercy in his soul, he strikes me straight in my face, immediately knocking me out.

I woke up to a loud bang and almost instantly realized I was tied up. It wasn't a first, but it certainly wasn't cool.

Trying to break out of the ropes instigated the pain in my arms, which I so desperately needed the medication for.

"I've seen a lot of breaks. You're arm is fractured not broken." I winced through the pain, trying to hop out of these ropes. They seemed measly but they were actually quite impressive. Or would be impressive if I wasn't the one in them. "Keep trying to break out of that, I can't guarantee it'll stay that way."

"What are you doing?" I say. He had brought down a box full of my stuff from my van, which means he went through the back. I know what he saw.

"Looking for proof. You see, this is new for me. I've never been-"

"A kidnapper?"

"Caught. You know who I am, which is a problem. For both of us. A problem that has to go away."

"Threaten me all you want. You think I'm afraid to die?"

"I think you _want_ it." I was startled by his response. "No doubt. You got a death wish. Coming back to find me after I let you live. You told me not to. Said you deserved it. I'm just looking for proof that you do." I wanted to cry. Not only because of the pain I had so stupidly caused but because he was so stupidly right.

"And then?"

"My problem goes away. And your wish comes true." He sat down. "You've got ghosts haunting you. Something in your past you can't live with. You could just tell me. Or explain the carseat in you van. You know, I think I might not be the only one with someone who would be sad to lose them."

"Haunting me?" I say focusing on the first subject. Link is a touchy one and not one I get into with just any stranger. "This coming from a guy who thinks he's possessed."

"I prayed for vengeance, I got it. You? Fighting to right every wrong, all the while begging to be taken out. Seems to me, your thing is serving penance." And he reached the notebook. The good old notebook I was saving for Link in my glove compartment all locked away. SHIELD couldn't take it because it was locked, but Robbie had the keys. And I want to kill him. Or to die. Or hide. Just to take the notebook and run. I looked away as the notebook immediately turned to the one photo. The notebook was incredibly soft and the stiff picture always stood out.

I closed my eyes as well, taking a deep breath. I had kept it for Link. As I've always said. Just for Link.

"We're not so different, you and me." I looked at the exact wrong time. I gulped. My eyes seemed to well up by themselves but I was determined not to shed a tear. "Yeah, you just feel bad for the dead in your wake. I don't feel anything."

"If that were true, you would've killed me by now." Anything to stop him from reaching Link's newborn pictures. And all the pictures we've taken together. They were smaller, and they didn't stand out as much as Lincoln's. But now that Lincoln's was gone, it was going to be extremely easy to find the next ones. "Are you really telling me that you don't feel curious about what's going on out there? You hunted those skinheads down. Why?"

"They spilled innocent blood."

"Wow. Listen to you. Take yourself seriously much? They were working with the Chinese. Does that happen a lot around here? Didn't think so. And outfitted with RPGs. You're not interested in how these things are connected? Look, I know that the big picture is kind of lost on you, but someone is arming them, uniting them, and that should concern us both."

"I said I'm not what you are."

"You're enhanced. And you just said we're no that different. I'm sorry, but you _just_ said that, like 10 seconds ago. They won't stop until a lot of people are dead."

"Or _they_ are."

"And who knows what kind of weapon they stole from the energy lab in Pasadena. Still haven't been able to dig up any infor-"

"Wait. What did you just say?"

"Momentum Alternative Energy Lab. Printout right there in your hands. Best I can tell, that's where they stole the weapon from. But it's been shut down for years. Wait. Does that mean something to you?" Robbie stood up and pulled out some duck tape. "Robbie! No! No! Ro-"

Oh this is going to be a pain to get off. I think about it, concentrating all of my power on my main objective. And a 3. And a 2. And a 1.

Uggh. The pain was stiflingly terrible but at least I was free. I took off the tape, and stumbled out of the garage. Robbie was taking off in the charger, and I know there was only one thing I could do. And I did it. I quaked myself onto the hood of his car. He drove wildly but I managed to hang on. The one thing I could handle, however? The heat.

I feel like everything this man touches is an extension of himself. I wasn't about to receive some second degree burns on top of fractured bones either, so I gave up and let go. The pain in my bones was a lot more than my slightly injured ego. At least one could be fixed faster than the other. Time to fix my ride up and make sure important stuff is locked up and find a ride to Pasadena, because I am 100% not risking my van being taken again.

I ended up just stuffing everything into the box and throwing it into the back of the van. I made sure to lock all doors before I found my way on buses and walking. Needless to say, it stayed there. The pills helped tremendously but it didn't help my already fractured bones. At least I could rest easy knowing they're going to heal faster. Then again, I can't even rest.

When I arrived on site. I realized SHIELD was on site. I didn't know where, however. Once inside, I caught a glimpse of Robbie and practically ran to keep up. He was way ahead. I almost lost him a couple of times, but I made it to the action.

And boy, was there a mess of it. Mack was stuck in some kind of vault, so I made that my priority. I yelled at Fitz to get out of the way and quaked the vault-like thing open.

"We need to turn the reactor off," he said sitting down at the computer. I don't think that's our priority, all things considered. Like Flaming Skull over there being able to grab ghosts.

Oof. And burn them to ashes, apparently. I had to close my eyes at the sight but could only do so briefly. Fitz managed to shut everything down but Skull Face was looking all around. He walked up to a bulletin board, grabbed a photo and left. Mack prepared to follow him.

"No! No, no, no. Don't." He gave me a firm look before dropping the weapon. He gently grabbed my hand which I was cradling against my chest and outstretched it. I winced in pain.

"Come on," he said, leading me back to the quinjet. On it, he brought down the medkit, sitting me down in one of the seats. He placed it on the floor and picked up some medicine. "Morphine" he said giving me a pill. "Rapid bone healing" he said, giving me another. I nodded and drank them. He began making me a makeshift splint. Fitz was staring awkwardly from across.

"There. Is that too tight?" I shook my head, retracting my hand. "So, that fire-headed inhuman..."

"He's... He's not an inhuman. I'm not sure what he is."

"I am." Oh really? "He's a killer."

Props to you, Mack.

"That truck heist in East L.A., three people were brutally murdered."

"What if they deserved it?"

"Is that how it is now? And let's not speak of the elephant in the room. You're running with a vigilante who decides who lives or dies?" Yeah. Well.

"I'm not running with anyone." I'm more like chasing him since his ass doesn't want to be contained. "But he can't be all bad. He came here tonight and he saved Fitz's life."

"Yeah but from what? What-what was that thing?"

"I have no idea." I was just waiting for it. Even if I was expecting it, I definitely was not prepared.

"Daisy, come home with us. So we can properly take care of that arm. So we can properly take care of the both of you. Where ever you left the little man, we'll take care of you both. We have some more of that drug that can help those bones heal faster. Now, our supply keeps running low, but, we're about to-" I tried not to meet his gaze as the realization slowly sunk into him. Turtleman was an accurate description of him if it really took this long, but I was struggling as it is. I didn't want any one else to get dragged down with me, but I'm afraid it's too late. "But you already have it, don't you? You seemed way too accustomed to taking it just like that."

I sighed.

"It's Yoyo."

Busted.

"She's stealing it, and... you two have been in touch this whole time." Fitz looked up in anger, tears in his eyes. But Mack just looked hurt. "We've been out there looking for you, trying to protect you, and put the pieces back together, and you-" I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them to look at Mack again.

"Why?! Why are you doing this?!"

"Because she's turned her back on us, Mack. Because something terrible happened, and she didn't want our help getting through it-"

"Slow down, Turbo"  
"Well, we've all been through terrible things. ALL OF US. And we've never turned our back." He heaved and sat back once he was done. Before the silence could get comfortable or awkward, I decided to speak up.

"I-I'm doing what I need to do."

"And it still affects us."

It affects all of you. Even Link! It affects everything. Every bit of time and choice.

"Like it or not."

I know that  
I know what I'm doing. I know that...

"Thank you," I say trying to erase my train of thought and throw it out of existence. "For the splint."

I got up and made my way to the exit.

I glanced back once last time.

"It affects Link too." I say softly, before continuing out.

Getting back to my van was no hassle. Turning it on was.

Apparently quaking an engine is not very good if you want it to function.

Who would've thought? I filled a small book bag with the bare minimum essentials before I see ol' little mister Robbie pulling up in his charger. I give him an annoyed look.

"Your friends with you?" He asks. What a dumb question. No wonder he dropped out. Then again, I dropped out too. So I can't say much.

"No." I say, kind of waving my splint. It felt weird, yet oddly satisfying at the same time. "I left them"

"Good." I think he'd be one of the only people in the world with that sentiment. Even I didn't have it, and I was the one who committed the action. "You want to know what's connecting these things."

"Yeah."

"I think it might be me." He reaches over and pushes open the door. Not gonna lie, I did hesitate at first. But really, I have no where else to go. So fuck it. I toss my bag onto the floor and swing myself onto the seat. Closing the door, Robbie puts the car into drive and we quickly speed away.

"So," I say awkwardly after a while.

"What do you mean it might be you?" He glances at me before returning his eyes to the road. "Connecting these things, I mean?"

He stayed silent.

"Ok, well you have to speak at _some_ time. You can't just stay silent"

"The car seat? Real or prop?" That caught me by surprise.

"Why should you care?"

"I don't" he kind of shrugged. "I'm just curious"

"Curious is caring."

"Curious is asking questions. Caring is the sentiment behind them. I don't have any sentiment. It's logical questioning. And a bit moral." He snapped. Silence filled the car once again.

"Well, it's real. I'm not that delusion to buy a carseat for no reason."

"Or empathy."

"I literally asked you to kill me? Do you think I care about your empathy?"

"On the contrary, little flower. That shows you care too much for it."

"Don't ever call me that again, Ghost 'sold-my-soul-to-the-devil' Rider." He rolled his eyes, fixing his grip on the wheel.

"Believe what you want" he spat.

"Why do you want to know?" No response. "You got what you want, now give me something."  
He glanced over at me again, offering a crooked smile before turning back to the road.

"This isn't fair, Reyes. Not how you play the game." He didn't even flinch.

"Where are we going?" I tried as we pulled into a gas station. No response. "Look, I know you're doing this whole mysterious-silent thing, but if we're gonna work together on this, you've got to fill me in." He shut off the car. "Did you know someone that worked at that Momentum facility?"  
He sighed.  
"It was my uncle? Ok? We're going to go see him."

"Ok," I stepped out quickly as soon as he did. "Wait. Uncle? Uncle Elias Morrow? Doing time at South Ridge Penitentiary?"

He gave me that look again which made me smirk.

"I like to vet my vengeance demons before I hop in a car with them."

"He's a good man. He did a bad thing."

"Attempted manslaughter, yeah. I'd say so. What'd he do at that lab?"

"He was an electrical engineer. His work was way above my head, but I think it's time we figured it out." A convertible pulled up with a very interesting news story playing in the background. One that made me believe a bit further that my life is a joke.  
"Suspect at large. We now have two confirmed blackouts Miami and London. The Inhumans claiming responsibility threatened to black out a major city every hour if their demands are not-" Are you kidding me? I wanted to yell at the man to turn it back on, but Robbie stopped me from doing that.

"You hear that?"  
"I don't believe it." I say glancing around. I want Robbie to hurry up and turn the car on so I find the station before the next "hot topic"  
"Hope they don't hit L.A."  
"You afraid of the dark?" Robbie scoffs at my comment.  
"No, my little brother rides the metro. He's gonna be stuck in a bad part of town. You know what happens to people during a blackout. They think they can get away with whatever they want."  
"That nothing can stop them." I was familiar. I remember one summer when tragedy struck at my then hometown in St. Agnes. It was not pretty.  
"So we're gonna have our hands full if it hap-" The next thing we know, it does. The light blows out and cars suspiciously stop working. "If it happens here."

Well that's convenient.

"Yup. Could kind of tell."

"We need to go pick up my brother" He said tossing his keys once more before hopping in the car.

"Yeah," I say as I get into the car as well. "I could kinda tell that, too."


End file.
